Overview
The Vietnam war is over, and Grandfather and young Nam dream that the new dikes will restore the wetlands, bringing home the beautiful cranes that once filled the winter sky. But other villagers think that growing rice is a more practical use for the land. "This is a beautiful book with many layers of meaning and an important message. The simple illustrations...are lovely and appealing."—School Library Journal.
After the end of the war in Vietnam, a young boy's grandfather dreams of restoring the wetlands of the Mekong delta, hoping that the large cranes that once lived there will return.
Synopsis
The Vietnam war is over, and Grandfather and young Nam dream that the new dikes will restore the wetlands, bringing home the beautiful cranes that once filled the winter sky. But other villagers think that growing rice is a more practical use for the land. "This is a beautiful book with many layers of meaning and an important message. The simple illustrations...are lovely and appealing."—School Library Journal.
Publishers Weekly
To create this delicate yet penetrating book, Keller ( Horace ; Island Baby ) drew from her experience working on a project called Saving Cranes in Vietnam. Her prologue explains that the Sarus crane, a Vietnamese symbol of long life and happy families, disappeared during the Vietnam War, when canals dug across the bird's wetland habitat drove it and other creatures away. Here, Grandfather repeats this story to Nam, expressing his belief that, when the rains come, the land will flood and ``the cranes will come home.'' But if they don't, Nam's Papa adds, the younger generation of farmers ``will take back the land your grandfather and the others have reserved for the birds, and use it to plant more rice.'' After the monsoons arrive, the old man rises early each day to search for the cranes, but to no avail. Finally, it is Nam who stumbles upon the first sign of their return, which brings joy to Grandfather and the entire village. Featuring earth tones accented with vivid hues, Keller's effectively understated watercolor and black-pen art captures, with a haunting simplicity, both the warning and the hope implicit in her tale. Ages 4-up. (Apr.)