So I read this in a day! But tbh it was really easy to do, 1) because it was a gentle story without anything too complex to have to decipher and 2) there wasn’t a great deal of reading required. But it commanded to be taken seriously, which you couldn’t help but do
Current day and a young girl Mizuki is trying to bring back the grandfather she once knew before her grandmother died. As she probes he eventually breaks down and tells her his story of Hiroshima and his associated guilt.
1945 Ichiro (Mizuki’s grandfather) and his friend Hiro are in Hiro’s bedroom chatting, the next thing they know they are re-gaining consciousness in a World they will never recognise again. As Ichiro later learns, the sea of white that they arose to was the Atomic bomb that had been dropped on Hiroshima. The devastation that then ensued, the agony at the loss of family members including both boys parents and then sadly Hiro, leaving Ichiro feeling he then had to save Keiko against all odds (Hiro’s 5 year old sister), only to lose sight of her when he passes out unconscious becomes all consuming when he comes-to. However, thanks to the care of the nurse attending to him, he gains in strength and his journey then is able to continue in his search for Keiko.
Even though this book didn’t go into great detail about the why’s and wherefores of the bombing, what was evident was the horror the nuclear disaster caused, and the rippling effect for years to come. The illustrations and poetry complimented the story beautifully and the touch at the end (instructions and paper for making your own paper crane) was a lovely one.
Current day and a young girl Mizuki is trying to bring back the grandfather she once knew before her grandmother died. As she probes he eventually breaks down and tells her his story of Hiroshima and his associated guilt.
1945 Ichiro (Mizuki’s grandfather) and his friend Hiro are in Hiro’s bedroom chatting, the next thing they know they are re-gaining consciousness in a World they will never recognise again. As Ichiro later learns, the sea of white that they arose to was the Atomic bomb that had been dropped on Hiroshima. The devastation that then ensued, the agony at the loss of family members including both boys parents and then sadly Hiro, leaving Ichiro feeling he then had to save Keiko against all odds (Hiro’s 5 year old sister), only to lose sight of her when he passes out unconscious becomes all consuming when he comes-to. However, thanks to the care of the nurse attending to him, he gains in strength and his journey then is able to continue in his search for Keiko.
Even though this book didn’t go into great detail about the why’s and wherefores of the bombing, what was evident was the horror the nuclear disaster caused, and the rippling effect for years to come. The illustrations and poetry complimented the story beautifully and the touch at the end (instructions and paper for making your own paper crane) was a lovely one.