I read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes when I was in elementary school. This book stayed with me till now. This book focuses on the sad trajectory of the main character, Sadako. Sadako was a young girl who was strong in her academics and athletics. She falls ill after running a race at her school. Her weak body could not longer keep up with the demands of a young teenage girl and she ends up in the hospital. Once she was hospitalized, her friend teaches her how to create paper cranes and tells Sadako that if she makes 1,000, her illness will disappear. Eager to meet this goal, Sadako, family and friends help her create paper cranes. However, Sadako's life was cut short and she never 1,000 paper cranes. This story of hope has had a tremendous impact on me; I have often recalled and told this story to my students, which they appreciate. It's an easy book to read and the moral of the story stays with you forever.
I agree, this is a great book. You can also use it to introduce symbolism in cultures: butterflies-dream or reality, sunflowers-hope, etc. It might be a kick off on having students find other symbols in either Japan or throughout the different cultures that you need to teach. It could be used as a way to start a service learning project for hospitalized children.
I realize this is an old thread but for anyone looking. I love the idea of using the book of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes as a way to help foster empathy. I've been reflecting on that a lot lately given our current world and I think empathy is something most people are missing. Its like people don’t care about anyone else… When discussing the Cultural Revolution in Communist China I ask my students if they would be fine if their teacher was killed basically for nothing…..I don’t suggest you ask that unless you are ready for a really disconcerting answer. Apparently, the cost of taking my life for some 16 year olds is $100…… I’m planning on incorporating more historical empathy into my class from now on.
I traveled with students to Japan and Hiroshima in 2018. I wasn't exactly sure how I expected my students to behave while we toured Hiroshima with guides directly impacted by the atomic bomb but they were pretty silent the whole time taking it all in. You can even have your students fold 1000 paper cranes and the Peace Museum accepts donations of paper cranes that they put on display. You can find out more here: https://www.peacelanterns.org/peace-cranes.html