Review & Activites: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr #middlegrade #history #nonfiction #multicultural

Summary:
Hiroshima-born Sadako is lively and athletic--the star of her school's running team. And then the dizzy spells start. Soon gravely ill with leukemia, the "atom bomb disease," Sadako faces her future with spirit and bravery. Recalling a Japanese legend, Sadako sets to work folding paper cranes. For the legend holds that if a sick person folds one thousand cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again.

My review:
Growing up and being a historian, I have always know about the bombing of Hiroshima. I knew it was dropped to end WWII. This is a known fact the world over. What is not always known, nor thought of, is what long-term effect it had on the people (the innocent) of Hiroshima. 

This is the story of a young girl and her family who lived through such an atrocity. It saddens me on a different level than the Japanese people but also gives me hope for world peace.

Many of the children in the Red Cross hospital that Sadako eventually ended up at, never left. They were all inflicted with leukemia and other diseases that ravaged their small bodies. One boy mentioned in the book contracted leukemia due to his mother carrying the disease before he was born, well after the bomb dropping.

Sadako's friend told her the legend of the  thousand paper cranes and gave her the first one which was golden. Sadako prayed every time she made a crane, paper given to her by many different people.  Many were hung on her ceiling and some in her hospital room. Eventually she got too weak to make them and before dying had made 644. 

Her classmates made the rest of the cranes in her honor. Today a statue stands in honor of Sadako and every year on " Japanese Peace Day" thousands of cranes can be seen at the foot of the statue. I would like to see this statue someday and maybe leave my own crane there.

In the back of the book, you can find step-by-step instructions on how to make a paper crane.

Disclosure: I purchased this book for my own collections. The view here is 100% my own and may vary from yours. ~Michelle

Activities:
1. Attempt to make 1000 cranes before International Peace Day which is Sept. 21st.
2. Read more about Japanese Peace Day
3. Visit the Sadako Statue in Japan

4. Make your own "shrine" for peace
5. Read more about International Peace Day

Where to find the author:
The author died in 2010. She was totally fascinated with the Japanese culture. She had a friend in High school that was Japanese and taught her about origami and many traditional things of the culture.
Amazon

Goodreads

#Review: Led Zeppelin Crashed Here by Chris Epting #history #landmarks #music

Summary:
In Led Zeppelin Crashed Here: The Rock and Roll Landmarks of North America, pop culture historian Chris Epting takes you on a journey across North America to the exact locations where rock and roll history was made. Epting has compiled nearly 600 rock and roll landmarks, combining historical information with trivia, photos, and backstage lore, all with the enthusiasm of a true rock and roll devotee. No other book delivers such an extensive list of rock and roll landmarks—from beginnings (the site where Elvis got his first guitar), to endings (the hotel where Janis Joplin died), and everything in between. The rowdiest and the most talented rockers are all featured, with sidebars on musical greats like Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and U2. And, of course, you’ll learn all about the infamous “Riot House” on the Sunset Strip where Led Zeppelin “crashed.”

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My review:

Although this book is an excellent source for musical nature, I found it also to be quite cumbersome to read. The book has 327 pages of musical trivia and facts ranging in particular singers or bands to where they died. In defense of the author though, he did an excellent job in his research and the book is not meant to be read as a novel but as a source for the musical aficionado. 

The content is divided up into sections beginning alphabetically with singers and bands, then goes through places, landmarks, deaths, memorials. He includes photos, addresses, and phone numbers when at all possible. In the back of the book, the author lists 100 songs for the classic road trip and albums (just in case you want to listen to the whole thing), his own personal top 25, and a list of musical stores across the country.

This book no doubt has it all and that is why it gets 4 stars from me. 

Disclosure: I picked up a copy of this book at my local library. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle aka Naila Moon

Where to find the author:

Amazon

A pop culture (and baseball) history aficionado, Chris has a lifelong penchant for documenting the exact sites where things both great and small occurred. As an author, Epting has found that unearthing and chronicling ‘hidden’ locations offers him a challenge. What began as an inquisitive hobby soon developed into the writing and photographing of 14 books based on his discoveries.