- 5,000-copy print run
- Pitch to major review media, including The New York Times, The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal
- Featured at virtual and in-person conferences.
- Targeted marketing to major review centers, influential bloggers, and major library system selectors.
- Promotion on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
- E-newsletter promotion.
Hana is at school when the devastating tsunami sweeps over Japan. But when the dark wave finally returns to the ocean, it has taken more than Hana could have ever imagined.
Hana’s school sits on the side of a hill with a view of the ocean. One day, while in class, a tsunami drags the ocean across her village. Hana watches in horror as the dark water crashes into trees and tosses cars and boats around. When she is finally reunited with her family, she learns that the wave has taken more than she could have ever imagined. To cope with her grief, Hana begins to paint chidori (a thousand birds).
Miki Sato’s collage art, which combines paper, textiles, and watercolor, creates a three-dimensional world that is rich in emotion, detail, and texture.
Jennifer Maruno writes with compassion and heart, bringing life to this story inspired by true events.