Contact: Debbie Carton
Ph: 510-981-6326
On Peace Day, people all over the world stop to remember the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki- and do what they can to see that it never happens again.
Since 1995, the Berkeley Public Library has celebrated Peace Day with a reading of Eleanor Coerr’s Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. This year’s program will take place in the 4th floor Children’s department of the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge (at Shattuck) on Tuesday, August 9, from 4-6:30 p.m. Coerr’s critically acclaimed children’s book tells the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Hiroshima resident who was two years old when the bomb fell. Sadako died ten years later from leukemia caused by the radiation from the bomb. Before she died, she tried to fold 1000 paper cranes, as legend has it that doing so will make your wish come true. Sadako folded 644 cranes before her death. Today people everywhere fold cranes and send them to the statue of Sadako Sasaki which stands in Hiroshima’s Peace Park.
Members of Berkeley Public Library’s Playreaders groups will read aloud the story, accompanied by original music composed for the occasion by celebrated koto players Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong. After the presentation, audience members are invited to join in folding paper cranes. There will be plenty of help for those who have never folded a crane before, but persons who know how to fold cranes and can show others are especially welcome.
For questions regarding this program, call 510-981-6236. This program is sponsored by Teen Services, Children’s Services and the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library. For accessibility information, call 510-981-6107, TTY (510) 528-1240, http://berkeleypubliclibrary.org.
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