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Rating: 
Summary: A cultural and artistic look at Japan
Review: I am an American citizen who has been living in Japan for the past 18 months and I was delighted when a friend sent this book to my daughter for her 4th birthday. I have been a fan of Rosemary Wells for years and this book did not disappoint me. Wells has created a delightful visual experience for the young reader through the use of traditional Japanese washi papers combined with her own bright and whimsical watercolors. Wells has also managed to show the special relationship that exists between a child and their grandparents and how traditions are passed down through generations. (In this case, Yoko's grandfather teaches her to fold paper cranes.) My own daughter is thousands of miles away from her grandparents in the United States, and I think that this book has shown her that love can cross all those miles.
As a parent and preschool teacher, I would recommend this book as a teaching tool about Japanese culture -- Wells has even included folding instructions for the paper crane. What a wonderful literacy link activity!
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: This book is charming and exquisitely illustrated. Elements of origami and Japanese printmaking enrich it visually, while the story is beautifully simple and affecting. It is one of my three-year old daughter's favorites, and my personal favorite among her many books. The story and pictures can be used as a starting point to explore the ideas of separation, travel, gift-giving, the seasons in nature, bird migration, and they even show the reader how to make paper cranes! It is superb.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: This book is charming and exquisitely illustrated. Elements of origami and Japanese printmaking enrich it visually, while the story is beautifully simple and affecting. It is one of my three-year old daughter's favorites, and my personal favorite among her many books. The story and pictures can be used as a starting point to explore the ideas of separation, travel, gift-giving, the seasons in nature, bird migration, and they even show the reader how to make paper cranes! It is superb.
Rating:
Summary: A cultural and artistic look at Japan
Review: This entire book has been entirely tainted by the disgraceful and completely insensitive endpapers! What gives with the author's simplified use of design motifs, such as the use of red stars indicating the former Soviet Union and BOWLS OF RICE for China...? Way to go, Ms. Wells.... lumping thousands of years of rich and wonderful history and culture into a bowl of rice. There is nothing to savor about this insensitivity and thoughtlessness and teaching children that diversity is nothing more than a cup of coffee or a pine tree.
Rating: 
Summary: Disgraceful!
Review: This entire book has been entirely tainted by the disgraceful and completely insensitive endpapers! What gives with the author's simplified use of design motifs, such as the use of red stars indicating the former Soviet Union and BOWLS OF RICE for China...? Way to go, Ms. Wells.... lumping thousands of years of rich and wonderful history and culture into a bowl of rice. There is nothing to savor about this insensitivity and thoughtlessness and teaching children that diversity is nothing more than a cup of coffee or a pine tree.
Rating:
Summary: Offers A Look Into Japanese Culture For Kids!
Review: This is a sweet story for kids -- especially if they are separated from their grandparents by distance. The paper cranes become symbols of family and cultural connections. Also, the richly colored illustrations and their elegant borders are amazing. This is a great book for kids, adults, and origami lovers!
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