25th March Crane Day

Crane Day (Trandagen) is a traditional holiday that is still celebrated in some parts of Sweden on March 25. It is believed that around this date cranes return to Sweden from their wintering grounds; thus, Crane Day symbolises the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

Cranes are not common birds in Australia and when we think of Australian Cranes, we are more likely to be talking about brolgas.

The brolga is a bird in the crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithologist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.

Brolgas can be found across tropical northern Australia, throughout Queensland and in parts of western Victoria, central NSW and south-east South Australia. They feed and breed in open wetlands, coastal mudflats and irrigated croplands, occasionally visiting estuaries and mangrove creeks.

The Australian population of Brolgas is considered ‘secure’, with somewhere between 20,000 to 100,000 birds in northern Australia. But the southern population – estimated at 1,000 birds – is dwindling, and the species is listed as vulnerable in NSW, South Australia and Victoria.

Brolgas are best known for their intricate and ritualised dance. Partners begin by picking up grass, tossing it into the air and catching it again in their beaks. The birds then jump up to a metre in the air with their wings outstretched, before performing an elaborate display of head-bobbing, wing-beating, strutting and bowing. Occasionally they stop to trumpet loudly – a spectacular sound!

It is hard to find books about brolgas so any research students want to do will probably be done on line, but it is a good time to revisit Rod Clement's classic Olga the Brolga.

There are other books in the library about cranes though. I have a student who is fascinated by them and reads whatever I can feed him. Surprisingly, his favourite is Lotus and Feather, but he is particularly interested in the natural environment and justice and extremely empathetic for such a young child. He's currently working his way through the books in the library that have a UN sustainability goal sticker affixed to them.

Try these:

• Hello I'm Here by Helen Frost & Rick Lieder

Follow a newborn sandhill crane as it takes its first steps into the world. Will my legs hold me? What if I fall? Peek in as a sandhill crane hatchling makes its first wobbly stand and takes its first steps alongside its brother.

• Utterly Lovely One by Mary Murphy

So opens a glorious praise song from a parent crane to her little cranelet -- drawing many other species into the circle of love as she sings. Warm, funny, and full of energy and affection.

• Crane & Crane by Linda Joy Singleton & Richard Smythe

A sandhill crane lifts a stick. A construction crane lifts a log. The two cranes grab, stretch, and stack, working through bad weather and difficult obstacles toward their end goal: building a home for a new family. Told in a simple sequence of verbs, this colorful picture book demonstrates how the mechanical world mirrors the natural world. 

• How Do You Do? by Larissa Theule & Gianna Marino 

Water Buffalo and Crane's field is dry, empty, and hot--so hot that they can barely think of anything else. Every day is the same . . . Until one day, they hear something new. This beautiful story is about widening your horizons and making new friends.

• Lotus and Feather  by Ji-Li Jiang & Julie Downing 

Inspired by the true story of a crane that rescued a Chinese village, and graced with sensitive watercolor illustrations, this lovely book about respecting nature offers deep emotion and delightful surprises. 

• Grandfather's Dream  by Holly Keller

The Vietnam war is over, and Grandfather and young Nam dream that the new dikes will restore the wetlands, bringing home the beautiful cranes that once filled the winter sky. But other villagers think that growing rice is a more practical use for the land. 

• The Crane Wife  by Odds Bodkin & Gennady Spirin

When Osamu, a lonely sail maker, nurses an injured crane one blustery night, he never suspects that this simple act of kindness will change his life forever. 
This retelling of a traditional Japanese folktale teaches readers young or old a lesson about life and love. 

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pu4YtQs080

• The Crane Girl by Curtis Manley & Lin Wang

A boy helps an injured crane, that then returns in human form to weave silk and save the boy and his father from poverty. Adapted from Japanese folktales and told in alternating prose and haiku.

• Crane Boy  by Diana Cohn & You Landowne

In this empowering picture book about arts, activism, and the environment, Kinga and his classmates create a dance to honour the cranes of Bhutan and raise awareness of their plight.

• Lord of the Cranes  by Kirsten Chen & Jian Jang Chen

In an uplifting folktale of virtue rewarded, Tian, the Lord of the Cranes, comes down from his home in the clouds to test the people, but when only Wang the innkeeper passes the test, Tian rewards him with a gift that brings him fame and fortune. 

• Luck by Jean Craighead George & Wendell Minor

After a girl saves his life, Luck, a young sandhill crane, begins the long migration north to Siberia with his parents. Luck and his parents use a special song to find one another: Crackaarr! While his parents depend on rivers, lakes, and mountains to guide their way, Luck memorises man-made objects -- windmills, sunglasses, and a baby carriage.

• The Heron and the Crane by John Yeoman and Quentin Blake

Crane is lonely at his end of the swamp. Heron lives on the other side, and Crane decides that they would be perfect for each other. However Heron isn't sure she agrees. Proposals and rejections, arguments and reconciliations - will Heron and Crane ever come together and overcome their differences? 

• The White Crane  by Junko Morimoto

An old childless Japanese couple unexpectedly acquire a daughter after they rescue a lovely white crane trapped in a forest during a storm.

Long out of print, if your library doesn't have a copy, there is a lovely reading on Youtube.

Part 1  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqESisE4H1Y

Part 2  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAwxgGtV3MM

And although these are about paper (origami) cranes they are worth searching out as they show how important cranes are in some cultures.

• The Tree of Cranes  by Allen Say

• The Paper Crane  by Molly Bang

And of course there's the fables:

• The Peacock and the Crane

• The Wolf and the Crane

• The Geese and the Cranes

• The Farmer and the Cranes 

which made me also think of the fables with storks, but I now know that cranes and storks are not the same or from the same family so I haven't listed them.