Ten-year-old Jette wrestles with the death of her younger brother, Emil, at age six, recalling special times they had together, his long-term illness, and his funeral, as well as her parents’ grief.
Featured in WOW Review Volume XII, Issue 3
Hospitalized with the dreaded atom bomb disease, leukemia, a child in Hiroshima races against time to fold one thousand paper cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy.
A resistant Lily discovers that new experiences don’t need to be scary in this engaging, deftly told story certain to resonate with young children. One morning, Lily’s mom wakes up with a sore throat and achy head and needs to stay in bed. But Lily’s dad needs to go to work. Who will look after Lily? When Dad arranges for her to spend the day at Melanie’s house, Lily is none too happy. “Don’t want to go!” she says. Even though Melanie has a friendly dog named Ringo and a funny baby named Sam, Lily is shy and wants to sit under the table with her toy Bobbo. But maybe a chance to make silly collages, or feed Sam lunch, or hold Ringo’s leash might make her feel braver–and maybe she’ll start having so much fun she won’t want to leave at the end of the day! With illustrations that keenly convey emotion through the subtlest gesture, Shirley Hughes mines a familiar situation for its most genuine moments and creates a truly reassuring story for young children.
Hospitalized with the dreaded atom bomb disease, leukemia, a child in Hiroshima races against time to fold one thousand paper cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy.