Product Description

The family from Dim Sum for Everyone! is back for a new outing– building and flying their own kite!

The wind is blowing. It is a good day for kites! The whole family makes a trip to the local craft store for paper, glue, and paint. Everyone has a job: Ma-Ma joins sticks together. Ba-Ba glues paper. Mei-Mei cuts whiskers while Jie-Jie paints a laughing mouth. Dragon eyes are added and then everyone attaches the final touch . . . a noisemaker! Now their dragon kite is ready to fly.

Kite Flying celebrates the Chinese tradition of kite making and kite flying and lovingly depicts a family bonded by this ancient and modern pleasure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1822588 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-11
• Released on: 2002-06-11
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 8.27" h x .33" w x 10.28" l, .64 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-The parents and three daughters who were introduced in Dim Sum for Everyone! (Knopf, 2001) return this time to shop for supplies and make a dragon kite, which they fly on a windy day. The brief sentence on every spread describes what each family member is doing: "Ba-Ba glues the paper." "Mei-Mei cuts whiskers." Young Mei-Mei's protruding tongue is evidence of her complete absorption in and enjoyment of her task. Patterns in the wallpaper and floor that form the background for the brilliantly colored, flat paintings of family members add visual interest. More patterns appear on Chinese-style jackets and slippers and on the bright-red dragon as well. Lin's signature swirls in the sky along with diagonals of kite string, grassy hill, and kite ribbons; and blowing hair, clothing, and leaves combine to suggest the ideal blustery day for this activity. Front endpapers contain supplies needed to build a kite while the back pages depict different kite creatures and the attributes they symbolize. An author's note offers a brief history of kite flying. Demi's Kites: Magic Wishes That Fly up to the Sky (Knopf, 2000) provides even more information about Chinese kites and their meanings.
Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 5-8. A Chinese girl describes how the members of her family come together to make and fly a dragon kite. Even the girl's two younger sisters help: Mei Mei cuts the whiskers and Jie Jie paints a laughing mouth. The overall simplicity is effective and appealing, and the spare text is accentuated by bright gouache illustrations, in colorful shapes and painted fabric patterns that call up the same strong style Lin used in Dim Sum for Everyone! (2001). The close-up perspective will draw little ones right into the project; the finished dragon kite flies as if "talking to the wind. What do you think he's saying?" Two pages of endnotes provide historical and cultural context for this favorite pastime, and clever endpapers display craft supplies and kite shapes. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
“A delightful read-aloud.”–Kirkus Reviews, Starred

“Lin’s paintings are graphically striking . . . a delight of patterning.”–Booklist, Starred

“Lin’s signature swirls in the sky along with blowing hair, clothing and kite ribbons suggest the ideal blustery day.”—School Library Journal, Starred