Product Description

When Osamu, a lonely sail maker, nurses an injured crane one blustery night, he never suspects that this simple act of kindness will change his life forever. Weeks later a mysterious woman arrives on his doorstep, seeking shelter from a storm. Osamu again offers his help, and soon the sail maker and the stranger fall in love and marry. But when he learns of his wife's gift for making magic sails, ambition replaces compassion--and Osamu risks losing the great happiness he has found. With majestic paintings and lyrical prose, this classic Japanese tale speaks to readers of all ages with its timeless lessons on the nature of kindness, love, and betrayal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #834699 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Amazon.com Review
This classic Japanese folktale, accompanied by stunning paintings by award-winning illustrator Gennady Spirin, gently explores the nature of love, promises, and betrayal. Osamu was a sail maker who lived high above the sea. "As he pulled the warp and weft of his sail together, he would often think to himself, How beautiful the cranes are. Of all the birds, they are the most like sails. It is as if the wind is held in their wings." One blustery night, a large crane crashes into Osamu's door and lies stunned on his porch. The lonely sail maker nurses it back to health and watches the graceful bird soar away. When this crane returns to Osamu's door in the disguise of a beautiful young woman, the drama really begins. They fall in love, and marry, but there comes a time when there is no longer food for them to eat. Yukiko tells her husband that she can make a magic sail for him to sell in the village, but that he must promise never to look at her while she is making it, and later, that he must never expect her to make another one. Both promises are broken, and in the end, Osamu never sees her again: "He wove simple sails for the rest of his years, there at his window, gazing at the marsh and the white cranes. And each autumn, in the season of storms, he waited for a knock on his door." Spirin's moody, intricate watercolor illustrations evoke medieval Japan, and perfectly complement the spare, poetic prose of Odds Bodkin's skillful retelling. (Ages 5 and older) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly
Bodkin (The Banshee Train) and Spirin (The Sea King's Daughter) turn to medieval Japan for this vivid retelling of a Japanese folktale. Osamu, a lonely sail maker, nurses an injured crane back to health. Not long afterward, a beautiful and mysterious woman arrives at his home and Osamu takes her in as well. As their love blossoms, she offers to weave Osamu a magic sail to sell at market, though she stipulates that he must not watch her work. Adults will anticipate the tragic outcome of this well-known tale. Bodkin's finely tuned version abounds with drama and emotion in its rich presentation of morals, and near-perfect pacing sets the stage for the pathos of the ending. Spirin's watercolor-and-gouache compositions, filled with Japanese motifs and period details, cast an otherworldly mood. Expanses of sky and clouds provide a sense of airiness, appropriate for a bird-inspired tale. Several gorgeous scenes showing trees in autumn and snowy winter and people draped in the elegant costumes of historical Japan are particularly memorable. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-In ancient Japan, a lonely sail maker, Osamu, opens his door during a storm to find a wounded crane. He cares for it, then sets it free. Another storm brings him a beautiful young woman seeking shelter. She becomes his wife. Seeing his poverty, Yukiko offers to weave a magic sail, but warns him not to look at her while she works. When Osamu sells the sail, he realizes that she has woven the wind into it. He becomes greedy and demands more. As Yukiko reluctantly works on a third sail, he runs behind her concealing screen to find a crane weaving its feathers into the loom. Her secret revealed, the crane wife flies away, and Osamu waits in vain for her return. The illustrations in this opulent picture book depicts the world of Japanese block prints in an idiom reminiscent of Russian lacquer art. The paintings, executed in muted rusts and greens, are strong in composition but weaker in illuminating emotion. The double-page spreads vary in layout, consisting of a blending of text and picture, all text set against the same border of clouds and a loom, or all artwork. Katherine Paterson's translation of Sumiko Yagawa's The Crane Wife (Morrow, 1981; o.p.) offers a more dramatic and economical narrative, with watercolors by Suekichi Akaba that portray setting and character with more authority. Libraries owning that version might want this new one for comparison; others may buy it to fill a need for Japanese folktales.
Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

I love the Pictures but Not all of the Story
"The Crane Wife" is one of those tragic Japanese love stories.

Osamu is poor sail maker and he loves to watch cranes. He thought that cranes were very special and pretty. Osamu wants a wife but because he's poor, Osamu doesn't think he could get a wife. One night, a crane came by his door and the crane was hurt. Osamu nursed it back to life and the crane left. Time passes and a lovely woman came by and she became his wife, her name is Yukiko. When Osamu and Yukiko had no more money for food, Yukiko decided to make a magic sail. She makes one and tells Osamu to sell it. When Osamu sells it, he gets enough money to last for six months. Osamu starts to get greedy but Yukiko tells her husband that making these magical sails, take too much of her. Nevertheless Osamu demands Yukio to make these sails but when Osamu demands Yukiko to make these sails, would he destroy her?

I love the pictures that come with this story. It's really detailed and very pretty and the colors made the pictures very vivid. The only thing that I hated about this story was how this story illustrates its moral of not taking things for granted. It's a tragic love story but in a way Osamu deserved it.

Haunting Lovely Story!
This story is so touching and moving it is hard to forget. I borrowed it from the library a few years ago and always remembered it. When I ran into it at a book store, I bought it immediately. The book really touched me and I love the story.

A book that younger children may not appreciate...
I think adults may appreciate this one more than the children will. I've attempted to read it to my younger sisters (ages 4 and 6) and they're just not into it. It's a beautifully illustrated book with an interesting and tragic story, and you might want to save it for those a little older.