Every year, Kinga and his classmates wait for the black-necked cranes to return to the kingdom of Bhutan. The birds fly south over the highest mountains in the word to winter in the valley where Kinga lives, deep in the Himalayas. The cranes have been visiting the valley since ancient times, but every year, fewer cranes return. Kinga is concerned. "What can he do?," he wonders. He and his classmates approach the monks for permission to create and perform a dance to honor the cranes and to remind the Bhutanese people of their duty to care for them. The monks caution them to first watch the cranes to see how they move and learn from them. The children watch and practice. And practice some more until the big day when they perform before the king of Bhutan.
Crane Boy, Diana Cohn, Cinco Puntos Press, Paperback, 40 pp, $8.95

Diana Cohn (author) is an educator and writer with an active commitment to social justice work. Diana has published 6 picture books for children including Dream Carver, Si Se Puede! Yes We Can!, Namaste! The Bee Tree, Mr. Goethe's Garden and Roses for Isabella. Her 7th book, Crane Boy was inspired by 2 visits to Bhutan and by her interest in how cultural traditions evolve and adapt over time and her interest in the environment and human ecology. When not writing, Diana works as the Executive Director of the Panta Rhea Foundation, based in Sausalito, California, and oversees grant-making for the Social Imagination, Arts and Education program. Her work at Panta Rhea builds on more than three decades of experience in social justice philanthropy, human rights advocacy and education. She has a BA in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic and an MA in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Diana serves on the board of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and the Oakland based FoodCraft Institute as well as on the advisory board for Litquake- the West Coast's largest week-long literary festival held each October in San Francisco. When not working or writing, she enjoys hiking and biking with her husband in northern Ca.

Youme (illustrator) is an author, illustrator, and community-based artist who has worked internationally in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Her first book Selavi: That is Life won the 2005 Jane Addams Peace Award. Pitch Black: Don't Be Skerd, a graphic novel she co-authored with Anthony Horton, was named one of YALSA's Top Ten Great Graphic Novels in 2009.