THE CRANE WIFE

This rendition of the bittersweet Japanese tale about the lonely sail-maker Osamu, who finds and then loses his perfect mate, is a poetic gem. One night a lone crane is injured in a storm. Osamu nurses the crane back to health, and soon it flies away. During the next storm a beautiful woman, Yukiko, knocks on the sail-maker’s door. Osamu takes her in, and they fall in love. When they run out of money Yukiko weaves wonderful magic sails that Osamu sells for gold, promising that he will never look at her while she weaves. As the story goes, he breaks that promise. Bodkin’s retelling of the story is careful and his descriptions glow, dense with detail despite the spare use of words: “Autumn came, the season of storms. Red leaves fell on the dark wood of his porch.” Spirin’s watercolor illustrations, making full reference to Japanese style, are lyrical and atmospheric, portraying both climate and landscape, characters and emotions. An exquisite and memorable volume. (Picture book/folklore. 5-10)