Crane Boy is set in Bhutan and tells the story of a festival to celebrate the black-necked crane - a much loved bird which has iconic status in the culture of this small Himalayan kingdom. Kinga, a small boy, watches for their return from migration, anxious because the numbers that overwinter in the wetlands of the Phobjika valley are decreasing and he wants to learn how to reverse this decline.. He persuades classmates to join him in seeking permission from the monks to create a special dance to inaugurate a festival celebrating the beauty of the cranes and so to remind people of the duty to care for this species by protecting its habitat. The attractive watercolour illustrations are full of interesting cultural detail and an afterword combines factual information and photographs of Bhutan.