Allan Say Brings Christmas to a Small Japanese Family in Tree of Cranes

As someone who has grown up with Christmas as far back as I can remember, it’s easy to take the holiday for granted. But imagine being a little bit older at the time of one’s first Christmas experience. That’s what Allen Say does in Tree of Cranes, a lovely picture book that offers a peek at a cross-cultural Christmas celebration.

The unnamed narrator recounts for us the first Christmas of his life, which occurred in Japan “when I was not yet old enough to wear long pants.” We never learn just who the boy is, because although this is primarily a story about a boy and his mother, and to a much lesser extent his father, neither parents calls the child by name. Indeed, there is a definite distance between child and adults; it seems that Papa is rarely home, while Mama longs for some alone time, though for safety’s sake she forbids the boy to wander to his favorite spot, the neighbor’s pond, where we see him playing in the first of the book’s paintings, and one of the loveliest. There is a luminous quality to the illustrations reflecting the peace that prevails throughout this little family.

The boy is a sweet, albeit overly curious, child. I can’t fault him much for his inquisitiveness because his mother is so tight-lipped. Eventually, she explains to him what she is up to, but before that, she seems to ignore him for long stretches of time, apparently not so much because she wants to surprise him but because she has become so caught up in nostalgia that she scarcely remembers he exists. Her reprobation regarding the pond would probably be unnecessary if she were more attentive to her son. This odd disconnect between parent and child is the one negative in this story, though there is a sense that perhaps this shared Christmas celebration will bring them closer together.

My favorite aspect of the story is the pine tree his mother brings into the house. It’s the boy’s, as his parents planted it when he was born in hopes that he, like the tree, would enjoy a long life. This seems like a beautiful tradition, and it reminds me of The Little Fir Tree, a wonderful Christmas story by Margaret Wise Brown. What is especially neat is the sight of this particular tree, which looks like an oversized bonsai, all covered with paper cranes and shining candles, making it very unusual-looking but thoroughly beautiful. The boy’s longed-for Christmas present and the snowman he builds also are indicative of Japanese culture, with his mother’s California upbringing creating an interesting hybrid.

I don’t know if this book is intended to be autobiographical or is merely a story that Say made up, but in any event, Tree of Cranes is a touching story of two cultures coming together.