THE STORY OF KITES

After offering The Story of Noodles (2002), Compestine and Xuan now turn to the creation of a Chinese pastime. The Kang brothers try to find an easy way to keep the birds away from the rice fields. They attempt to fly with straw, paper, and feathered wings. They send their hats with painted faces aloft. Next, they tie strings to wings fashioned of homework papers. Finally, they make fabulous dragon and phoenix kites, recreating the sound of the zheng, a stringed instrument, and manage to scare the birds. They also start a new enterprise—the first Chinese kite factory. Traditional papercuts with strong black lines and vividly colored insets are perfectly suited to the kite images. An author’s note provides information on kite history and instructions. Unfortunately, there are no diagrams. With its folkloric tone, this provides a sense of fun to a China unit or stands on its own as a story about creativity. (Picture book. 6-9)