The Story of Clara Barton Book

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, Eleanor Coerr

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a children's historical novel written by Canadian-American author Eleanor Coerr and published in 1977.

It is set in Japan after World War II. The short novel is a fictional retelling of the story of Sadako Sasaki, who lived in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing by the United States. Sadako was 2 years old when the atomic bomb (Little Boy) was dropped on August 6, 1945, near her home by Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima, Japan. She was at home when the explosion occurred, about one mile from ground zero.

In November 1954, when she was 12 she developed swellings on her neck and behind her ears. In January 1955, purple spots had formed on her legs. Subsequently, she was diagnosed with leukemia (her mother referred to it as "an atom bomb disease").

She was hospitalized on February 21, 1955, and given a year to live. After being diagnosed with leukemia from the radiation, Sadako's friend told her to fold origami paper cranes (orizuru) in hope of making a thousand of them. She was inspired to do so by the Japanese legend that one who created a thousand origami cranes would be granted a wish.

Her wish was simply to live. In this retelling of her story, she managed to fold only 644 cranes before she became too weak to fold any more, and died on the morning of October 25, 1955. Her friends and family helped finish her dream by folding the rest of the cranes, which were buried with Sadako. However, the claim in the book that Sadako "died before completing the 1000 cranes, and her two friends completed the task, placing the finished cranes in her casket" is not backed up by her surviving family members.

According to her family, and especially her older brother Masahiro Sasaki who speaks on his sister's life at events, Sadako not only exceeded 644 cranes, she exceeded her goal of 1000 and died having folded approximately 1400 paper cranes. Masahiro Sadako, says in his book The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki that she exceeded her goal. Mr. Sasaki and the family have donated some of Sadako's cranes at places of importance around the world: in NYC at the 9-11 memorial, at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, at The Truman Library & Museum on November 19, 2015, at Museum Of Tolerance on May 26, 2016, and the Japanese-American National Museum three days later. USS Arizona Crane Donation and President Truman Museum Donation helped by Mr. Clifton Truman Daniel who is the grandson of President Truman.

After her death, Sadako's friends and schoolmates published a collection of letters in order to raise funds to build a memorial to her and all of the children who had died from the effects of the atomic bomb. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also called the Genbaku Dome, and installed in the Hiroshima Peace Park.

At the foot of the statue is a plaque that reads: "This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth." Every year on Obon Day, which is a holiday in Japan to remember the departed spirits of one's ancestors, thousands of people leave paper cranes near the statue. A paper crane database has been established online for contributors to leave a message of peace and to keep a record of those who have donated cranes.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و پنجم ماه دسامبر سال 1984 میلادی

عنوان: ساداکو و هزار درنای کاغذی؛ نویسنده: الینور کوئر؛ مترجم: مریم پیشگاه؛ تهران، کانون پرورش فکری کودکان و نوجوانان، تهران، 1359، در 58ص؛ چاپ دیگر 1362؛ چاپ هشتم 1374؛ چاپ نهم 1377؛ چاپ دهم 1381؛ شابک 9644321626؛ موضوع داستانهای واقعی ژاپنی - سده 20م

داستانی واقعی از دختری به نام «ساداکو ساساکی» ست؛ که هنگام بمباران اتمی هیروشیما، در آن شهر می‌زیسته‌ است؛ «ساداکو» به دلیل تشعشعات، سرطان خون گرفت، و در دوران حیاتش در یک آسایشگاه، بنا بر یک باور، برای بهبود خود، اریگامی درناهای کاغذی را به تعداد هزار عدد درست می‌کرد؛ این کتاب به زبانهای بسیار ترجمه شده، و جزو برنامه‌ های صلح، برای دانش آموزان است؛ ا. شربیانی