Tree of Cranes

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Say, Allen. 1991. TREE OF CRANES. Ill. by Allen Say. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 039552024X

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Tree of Cranes is about a young boy who has been warned by his mother, not to play in the icy pond. Despite his mother’s warnings, he plays in it and comes home with a cold. His mother is upset with him for disobeying. She prepares a hot bath and then sends him off to bed. When the boy hears a noise in the garden, he goes to investigate it and finds his mama digging up his pine tree that was planted for him when he was born. She brings the tree into his room and decorates it with origami cranes and candles. This becomes the boy’s first Christmas tree. He begins to listen to his mama as she tells him about her Christmas back in California.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Tree of Cranes takes place in Japan. It is narrated by a young Japanese boy who thinks he is in trouble for disobeying his mother. The text is written in simple form and reveals the special relationship between the young boy and his mother. There are several cultural markers throughout the passages. Examples include the boy eating rice gruel (which is fed to those who are sick) out of his Papa’s big cup, a tradition of planting a tree for the young boy’s birth, so that “he would live a long life like the tree.” (pg. 18) The author has also brought two cultures together when the mother tells her son about the Christmas she celebrated in California and shows him how to decorate his first Christmas tree by using origami cranes and candles.
The illustrations in this book provide cultural marker by showing the characters with light skin tones and black hair. The mother is seen wearing a traditional kimono and the son is placed in one after his bath. The furnishings of the house are in Japanese style such as the mattress on the floor, the tub in the wooden box, the sliding doors and the chopsticks being used to eat with. The illustrations help to give authenticity to this book and will help readers make the connections to the Japanese culture.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Kirkus Review: “Say's exquisitely designed illustrations are as elegant as those for The Boy of the Three-Year Nap (1988, Caldecott Honor). Geometric forms in the austere Japanese architecture provide a serene background for softer lines defining the appealing little boy and his pensive mother.”

Booklist: “Say's watercolors not only capture fascinating details of the boy's far away home--his tall, wooden tub, his futon, his mother's tiny tree--but also depict, with simple grace, the rich and complex bond between mother and child that underlies the story.”

Publisher’s Weekly: “The story is a poignant one, illuminated with finely drawn illustrations reflecting the serenity of a Japanese home and the quiet love between mother and son.”

5. CONNECTION
Say, Allen. KAMISHIBAI MAN. ISBN 9780618479542
Say, Allen. EMMA’S RUG. ISBN 9780618335237
Say, Allen. TEA WITH MILK. ISBN 9780395904954