Book Review: 'Tree of Cranes' by Allen Say

✰✰✰✰✰ Faraway in Japan, a little boy breaks the rules. He knows he will be in trouble. When he returns home, he expects his mother to be waiting for him. Instead she ignores him. Is she really so angry she won't even talk to him? After a hot bath and a hot lunch, the little boy is sent to bed. Confused and hurt, he worries about his mother who seems so distant. Why is she acting so strangely?

Soon his mom returns with silver paper cranes, a little tree, and candles. Today is a very special day in the land where his mother grew up. It is Christmas. In the soft glow of candlelight, the little boy shares this special day of peace and love with his mother as she remembers her faraway home.

The Bottom Line: This sentimental tale celebrates the merging of two cultures. Say's gentle words combined with beautiful, soft watercolors highlights a time of peace, love, and hope as a mother shares a treasured tradition with her child. Highly recommended holiday reading for kids ages 4 - 8.

Details: Tree of Cranes written & illustrated by Allen Say. Hardcover picture book published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 1991. 32 p. ISBN: 978-0-395-52024-6