The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki: and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Description

Age range 9 to 12 For the first time, middle readers can learn the complete story of the courageous girl whose life, which ended through the effects of war, inspired a worldwide call for peace. In this book, Sadako's older brother Masahiro tells her true story- how her courage throughout her illness inspired family and friends, and how Sadako became a symbol of all people, especially kids, who suffer from the impact of war. Her life and her death carry a message: we must have a wholehearted desire for peace and be willing to work together to achieve it. Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on her city of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. Ten years later, just as life was starting to feel almost normal again, this athletic and enthusiastic girl was fighting a war of a different kind. One of many children affected by the bomb, she had contracted leukemia. Patient and determined, Sadako set herself the task of folding 1000 paper cranes in the hope that her wish to be made well again would be granted.

Sue DiCicco was one of Disney's first women animators, and is a sculptor and prolific author and illustrator of children's books. An early pioneer of the Internet, she designed and crafted the first online schoolhouse, serving up to 300,000 per event in the 1990s. As part of her desire to creatively connect students from all parts of the world, she founded the Peace Crane Project in 2012 (www.peacecraneproject.org). Today, Sue speaks globally, inviting listeners to explore the potential of the Internet to connect students in creating a more understanding, educated, integrated, and peaceful future. She lives in Santa Barbara, California. Masahiro Sasaki has been a peace activist since his teens. Since 2000 he has dedicated himself to sharing Sadako's true story and bearing witness to the plight of all atomic war survivors in the world. He was the first non-American to receive the Spirit of America Award from the National Council for the Social Studies. In 2009 he established The Sadako Legacy, a nonprofit organization. He has donated Sadako's cranes to venues all over the world. Today, he lectures globally and promotes activities to connect people for peace. He lives in Fukuoka, Japan.

"My grandfather, Harry S. Truman, never spoke to me about the atomic bombings of Japan. Like most Americans, I learned about them in school...Sadako Sasaki's story was the first human story of the bombings I'd ever read. It led me to [her brother] Masahiro and two visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the second...to record survivor testimony for the Truman Presidential Library. In all that time, Masahiro rarely told his own version of his family's story, preferring to focus on his sister's courage and selflessness. Now, we have the full story of the courage and selflessness of the entire Sasaki family, their friends and the people of Hiroshima." --Clifton Truman Daniel, Grandson of President Harry S. Truman "Through reading the story of Sadako Sasaki you will know that the abolition of nuclear weapons and the rejection of war are the only path to survival for mankind. As you read the unbearable tragedy brought by the atomic bombing, you will learn the real meaning of 'to live' from Sadako, who patiently fought against an incurable disease that was so hard to endure." --Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba, Former Mayor, Hiroshima, Japan "Focusing on one person's story opens the possibility of becoming engaged in the abolition of nuclear weapons. If a mere one hundred explode, every person's life on this frail planet will suffer beyond normal imagination and we must never let that happen." --Jonathan Granoff, President, Global Security Institute