The Crane Wife

Got this book for a family member as we grew up listening to older family member retelling such fairy-tale/folktales. My family member absolutely loves it and has used it with friends who have children and trying to expose them to the greater world. While there are a number of variations of The Crane Wife tale, this one is a interesting read with elaborate and extraordinary artwork to go with it. While it might be a little much for some people and children as it is not a story with a happy ending found in most present-day, Disney-esque tales, but more similar to the original Grimms fairy tales in the regard. So anyone interested in folk stories/tales from other parts of the world or maybe just looking for something different, I definitely recommend this book.

Great book, sad story and as a kicker, it has a morale and lesson.

Great book, love this hard covered version!

A hauntingly beautiful tale with poignant and evocative illustrations.

Beautifully illustrated and a story that has a special meaning to me.. Lovely

Really charming illustrations by Gennadi Spirin with great colour combinations and a very touching sensitive story. I loved both very much. What I did not like was the fact that the cover was cut out at some part, but I am still happy with the inner cover, and the illustrations are a lot more important to me. A great book which I recommend to readers and especially to anyone who loves fairy tales and dreaming.

Great story, lovely illustrations

Paperback is very flimsy. Spring for the hardcover.

Bücher, die von Spirin illustriert sind, sind immer gut. Gerade bei der "Kranichfrau" erhärtet sich diese Einsicht einmal mehr. Obwohl Spirin hier seinen "Stil" nicht verläßt, ist er doch sehr den Vorbildern der japanischen Malerei gefolgt. Das Ergebnis ist ein im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes bildhaftes Buch mit einer märchenhaften Geschichte. Es erzählt von einem armen Weber, der ein Kranichweibchen gesund pflegt. Kurz darauf erscheint vor seiner Tür eine wunderschöne Frau, die ihn heiratet, und die ihm zur Herstellung außergewöhnlicher Stoffe verhilft. Warum er sie wieder verliert, soll jeder Interessierte in diesem in sehr einfachem Englisch geschriebenen Buch selbst herausfinden. Schade nur, daß es dieses Buch nicht auf Deutsch und nicht hart gebunden gibt. Auf jeden Fall ein Schmuckstück in der Spirin-Sammlung ebenso wie für den Freund schöner Bücher.

This book is classified as a children's book but would be a joy to people of any age. Bodkin tells a short, simple and rather melancholy tale about a sailmaker in the Japan of old, a sailmaker who loves to watch the cranes fly past his window. The accompanying illustrations by Gennady Spirin are breathtakingly beautiful-you can almost smell the snow off them ! If you are particularly struck by the art of Spirin, may I suggest also looking at The White Cat, The Children of Lir and Martha, three books which are also treasured items in my personal library ? He never disappoints.

A classic traditional story. The artwork is absolutely beautiful!!

Se volete fare un regalo ad una persona raffinata che conosce l'inglese, questa è un'ottima idea. Si tratta di una bellissima favola illustrata magistralmente a colori da un grande artista russo.

This is a beautiful version of a traditional Japanese fairy tale. The illustrations are gorgeous and evocative of Japanese silk prints. While a reviewer below is correct that their timeline is not entirely accurate, I am not sure how essential this is in a fairy tale - it is not pretending to be a piece of history. In school, it could sit alongside The Goose that lay the golden egg or other stories where people cannot accept their good fortune but want more.