CCBC Booklists

CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

To print a CCBC booklist, click on a list below and then use your browser’s “Print” command.

< Back to booklist

1001 Cranes

by Naomi Hirahara

CCBC Review:

Twelve-year-old Angela Kato’s parents are splitting up and have sent her to Los Angeles to spend the summer with her grandparents. Scared and bewildered, Angela also resents having her life turned upside down. That resentment is heightened when she is put to work helping her grandparents, who run a flower shop, prepare a traditional Japanese display of 1001 origami cranes for a wedding. She’s not particularly adept at folding the cranes, but her grandmother insists she keep at it despite the demands for perfection from the difficult bride. Angela’s also not particularly close to her grandmother, who seems to have more kind words and feelings for a troubled young girl in the neighborhood than for Angela or almost anyone else, including the older neighbor next door with whom Angela is spending time (although not always willingly). Angela’s developing friendship with Tony, a boy she meets while skateboarding, heightens the tension when she is determined to see him regardless of her grandmother’s disapproval. Angela’s authentic voice, and her realistic behavior—and misbehavior—make for a fresh story about a girl just beginning to discover that human hearts of all ages are as complex and delicate as the folds of an origami crane. ©2008 Cooperative Children's Book Center

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 10-14
Age Range: Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10) Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13) Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format: Novel
Subjects: Arguments/Conflict Asian Americans Divorce Friendship Grandmothers Japanese and Japanese Americans Traditions
Diversity subject: Asian
On CCBC Booklist: Custodians of Wonder: Books About Intergenerational Connections

Publishers: Delacorte, Random House
Publish Year: 2008
Pages: 230
ISBN: 9780385735568
CCBC Location: Fiction, Hirahara

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.

Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.