Allen Say

The New Girl at school plays the violin so beautifully that Almond gets lost in the music, but she also feels sad because she does not know if she herself has any talent at all--until the school play, when with the encouragement of her mother, her teacher, and the New Girl, she finds she has a talent for acting.

"Caldecott Medalist Allen Say presents a stunning graphic novel chronicling his journey as an artist during WWII, when he apprenticed under Noro Shinpei, Japan's premier cartoonist. "Drawing from memory" is Allen Say's own story of his path to becoming the renowned artist he is today. Shunned by his father, who didn't understand his son's artistic leanings, Allen was embraced by Noro Shinpei, Japan's leading cartoonist and the man he came to love...

After Jiro encounters a life-like garden statue of a tall bird, he falls asleep and dreams of the story his mother once told him about a grateful crane.