The Crane Husband

3h 44m; narrated by Laura Knight Keating

English language

Published by Recorded Books.

(1 review)

“Mothers fly away like migrating birds. This is why farmers have daughters.”

A fifteen-year-old teenager is the backbone of her small Midwestern family, budgeting the household finances and raising her younger brother while her mom, a talented artist, weaves beautiful tapestries. For six years, it’s been just the three of them—her mom has brought home guests at times, but none have ever stayed.

Yet when her mom brings home a six-foot tall crane with a menacing air, the girl is powerless to prevent her mom letting the intruder into her heart, and her children’s lives. Utterly enchanted and numb to his sharp edges, her mom abandons the world around her to weave the masterpiece the crane demands.

In this stunning contemporary retelling of “The Crane Wife” by the Newbery Medal-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon, one fiercely pragmatic teen forced to grow up faster …

3 editions

reviewed Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

gorgeous and weird

There's a huge amount of emotional imagery packed into these few pages. I loved the tone of the work, as well as the story itself. This is art. I felt like you could read this over and over and see different ideas and depths each time. A bit like when you go to a gallery and walk around a sculpture piece. Really intriguing and evocative.