A poor Japanese woman maneuvers events to change the lazy habits of her son.

There was a story that Mama read to Jiro: Once, in old Japan, a young woodcutter lived alone in a little cottage. One winter day he found a crane struggling in

There were eggs in every bird’s nest, the air buzzed with honeybees, and cherry trees blossomed all at once. The poor villagers forgot their cares and gathere

As a young Japanese boy recovers from a bad chill, his mother busily folds origami paper into delicate silver cranes in preparation for the boy's very first Chr

Thirteen-year-old Kiyoi, an apprentice to the famous cartoonist, Noro Shinpei, tries to develop his talent and become self-reliant, in this novel based upon the