Sing Swan Song
Keizaburo Tejima's Swan Sky (1983, Japan) was published in the US in 1988. In fact, publishers brought out a handful of books by this masterful writer-illustrator in the 80s.
Book description: "Despite the devoted attentions of her family, a young swan is unable to accompany them on the journey to their summer home."
Swan Sky is physically huge, and the woodcuts at such a size are breathtaking. My scrappy stitch-jobs do not do them justice. (Note that the next two images are halves of larger spreads.) The book's culminating image (above) is magic.
Keizaburo Tejima's books are currently out-of-print in the US, but I have the feeling they will keep being rediscovered and reprinted here and around the world.
