Calling the Wind: A Story of Healing and Hope

by Trudy Ludwig, Kathryn Otoshi (Illustrator)

Overview

Inspired by the Wind Telephone in Japan, this poignant story explores the stages of grief, the healing power of hope, and the unbreakable family bonds that connect us all. From the acclaimed author of The Invisible Boy and the award-winning illustrator of One.

In a small village in Japan, a family mourns the loss of their loved one. Each family member grieves in their own way, but it is not until they discover an old-fashioned telephone booth on a windswept hill that they begin to heal. Through the telephone, they are able to express feelings long bottled up--speaking directly to their loved one and also to each other. Slowly but surely, the pain subsides, and hope blossoms anew.

Inspired by Itaru Sasaki's Wind Telephone, which brought healing to the people of Japan in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami this story explores grief and loss, and how we move forward by finding meaningful ways to connect with the family and friends we've lost, as well as those who are still with us.

"Truly beautiful and poignant. This book is for anyone who's ever experienced loss or grief, which is to say: all of us." —Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593426425
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
Lexile:	AD320L (what's this?)
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

TRUDY LUDWIG is a nationally acclaimed speaker and an award-winning author of numerous children’s books, including The Invisible Boy, a School Library Journal Best Picture Books Selection and a recommended back-to-school book by USA Today and Scholastic Teacher. Her books and presentations focus on promoting kids’ social-emotional learning skills and help empower them to be kinder, more compassionate, and inclusive in their social world. Trudy has collaborated with leading experts and organizations, including Sesame Workshop, the International Bullying Prevention Association, Committee for Children, and ConnectSafely.org. 

KATHRYN OTOSHI is an award-winning author/illustrator, best known for her character-building number/color book series: One, Zero, and Two. She is also the co-author of Beautiful Hands, a book about possibilities and reaching your dreams. She travels across the country to encourage children to develop strong character traits and to help readers and teachers find creative methods to engage and connect with their students through the power of reading, art, and literature. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Editorial Reviews

"A beautifully written, quietly poignant depiction of one family’s journey through loss." —Kirkus Reviews

"A stunning and heartfelt book." —The Children's Book Review

"This book is for anyone who's ever experienced loss or grief, which is to say: all of us. Truly beautiful and poignant." —Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan

From the Publisher

2022-08-17
A telephone box and a little imagination help a family confront their grief.

An Asian-presenting family sits around a low table with a conspicuously empty seat. The scene is depicted in a soft, muted, melancholy blue, while a memory of a meal with the now-departed loved one is shown in sunny yellow. That yellow hue then reappears in the form of a bird, which guides one of the family members to a telephone box where they have a (one-way) conversation with their loved one (“Can you hear me? I just hear the wind. Is that you?”). Other family members have conversations, too; after, each discovers a yellow flower and brings it back to the house, adding to a growing bouquet on the table. When one of the members learns about this, they break the vase, furious, scattering the flowers and the family. Only when the anguished member finds solace through the telephone can they also find peace with their family. Structured around the seasons, poetic text alternates between narration and dialogue. Sensitively composed illustrations, rendered in watercolor, pen, and colored pencil in a pastel palette, use colors thoughtfully. An author’s note explains that this telephone box (kaze no denwa, or wind phone) is real and located in Ōtsuchi, Japan; it was created by Itaru Sasaki as a way to cope with the death of his cousin, and it has provided solace for others, including those affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A beautifully written, quietly poignant depiction of one family’s journey through loss. (photograph, resources on grief) (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews