Wrtitten by Newbery Medalist Katherine Paterson with painting by
Caldecott winning illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon
A beautiful mandarin duck is captured and caged by a greedy lord who
wants to show off the bird's magnificent plumage. But the wild creature
pines for his mate. When Yasuko, the kitchen maid, releases the bird
against her lord's command, she and the one-eyed servant, Shozo, are
sentenced to death. The grateful bird intends to return their kindness,
but can he outsmart the cruel lord?
Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Illustration, and a
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year.