Pink Paper Swans

by Virginia L. Kroll, Nancy L. Clouse (Illustrator)

"Kroll's story of an interracial, intergenerational friendship comes alive inClouse's full-color, cut-paper collages, the perfect medium for the story".--Booklist.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

Kroll has written numerous children's books since her career started in the mid-80's. Her first book was published in 1992. She started writing when she had her fourth child. Before that, she taught elementary school in Buffalo, NY. She also has written a number of books under the pseudonym Melrose Cooper to mask her tremendous output in so short a time.

Reviews

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this girl living in an apartment complex (which may or may not have greenery around it - she goes down to the "shadow" to hang out, which is shown as being mostly concrete, but we're also told about the buds swelling on the trees in spring) strikes up a friendship with an older Japanese neighbor over her origami, which she eventually learns to do eventually.

It's a simple enough story, though I would've liked it to have been fleshed out a little more - all we know about Janessa is that she practices her origami a lot, and all we really know about her neighbor is that she came from Japan and is arthritic.

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is plenty long to read aloud, but I love the concept.