About this item
A warm, gorgeous exploration of a little girl's experience immigrating to a new country and missing her home and her grandmother, who still lives far away.Sakura's dad gets a new job in America, so she and her parents make the move from their home in Japan. When she arrives in the States, most of all she misses her grandmother and the cherry blossom trees, under which she and her grandmother used to play and picnic. She wonders how she'll ever feel at home in this new place, with its unfamiliar language and landscape. One day, she meets her neighbor, a boy named Luke, and begins to feel a little more settled. When her grandmother becomes ill, though, her family takes a trip back to Japan. Sakura is sad when she returns to the States and once again reflects on all she misses. Luke does his best to cheer her up -- and tells her about a surprise he knows she'll love, but she'll have to wait till spring. In the meantime, Sakura and Luke's friendship blooms and finally, when spring comes, Luke takes her to see the cherry blossom trees flowering right there in her new neighborhood.Sakura's Cherry Blossoms captures the beauty of the healing power of friendship through Weston's Japanese poetry-inspired text and Saburi's breathtaking illustrations.
About the Author
Robert Paul Weston is the award-winning author of ZORGAMAZOO, a novel-in-verse for children, and DUST CITY, a hardboiled fairy tale. Currently, he lives in Toronto, Canada, where he lectures in creative writing at the University of Toronto.ZORGAMAZOO won a 2009 E.B. White Read Aloud Honour, the 2010 Silver Birch Readers' Choice Award, and the 2011 California Young Reader Medal. DUST CITY was nominated for the 2011 Edgar Award and the 2012 Red Maple Readers' Choice Award.Find out more at www.RobertPaulWeston.com.
