The Crane Girl Adapted by Curtis Manley from Japanese folk tales. Illustrated by Lin Wang.( Fitzhenry & Whiteside;) (#IBRChildrensBooks)s

When Yoshiko's brother is born ("he was tiny and soft and smelled like morning after the rain"), the girl is no longer the center of her family's loving attention. A forlorn Yoshiko asks the cranes if she might become one of them--"Then I could be your baby and dance with you. Then I would be happy." The girl's wish is granted; suddenly she receives all the coddling she desires, until one day she visits her human family and overhears them lamenting "their beloved daughter, Yoshiko, and how they missed her." So Yoshiko becomes a human child once more, with a new understanding of the power and extent of parental affection. In an often poetic reworking of a familiar theme, Charles invests her tale with poignance and a timeless universality--despite its specific, skillfully rendered setting. (A brief afterword explains Oriental artifacts and the significance of cranes.) With meticulous brush strokes suggesting woven textures, Charles's illustrations aptly convey both a sprawling Oriental landscape and the closeness of family. Such careful touches as a single red line framing each page make this a handsomely produced version of a durable tale. Ages 3-6.

Haiku float like falling feathers throughout this nifty reworking of Japanese folktale, about a boy who rescues a trapped crane. A mysterious girl who arrives at the boy’s home offers to weave silk to help the family finances. She’s so successful that the boy’s father becomes lazy and cruel. When she runs away the boy discovers that she is, in fact, the crane. Manley has created a happy, bird-loving ending: The boy becomes a crane too; they fly into eternity together. Wang’s art evokes traditional Asian styles, but with cinematic, souped-up action.