What the Kite Saw

Starred review from April 1, 2021

K-Gr 2-The world shifts on its axis the day soldiers occupy a young boy's town. His father and brother are taken away, leaving his family reeling from the uncertainty left in their wake. When a curfew is imposed that restricts people to their homes for the greater part of each day, the boy does what he can to improve the moods of his mother and younger sister. One day, the boy has an idea that he shares with his friends as a way to bring hope to a frightening situation. He creates a kite, and then imagines the view of the world from the kite's lofty height, including, on a distant spot, his brother and father waving at him. Though short-lived, the boy's creation inspires more stories to light the darkness surrounding them. Soft, pastel illustrations create the visual atmosphere of this story, emphasizing browns and grays with a few chosen accents of brighter colors. The threat of war is unsettling at best, and feelings of fear and helplessness are evident on the people's faces, primarily with light skin, although a few of the townspeople have darker complexions. As the story progresses, the buildings in the background begin to crumble, adding more to the narrative than the words alone provide. Simple text and vivid, emotion-filled imagery make this book well-suited to a wide range of readers. Adults will find echoes of World War II atrocities, although the author's small note credits the inspiration for her story to Palestinian children. VERDICT This hopeful story is an important means of understanding and coping with the realities of war in one's backyard.-Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver P.L.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2021
This thought-provoking and haunting picture book is set in an unnamed city of gray buildings pushing smoke into a red cloud-lined sky. Soldiers occupy the town, and one day they take the young narrator's father and brother away. A curfew is announced from a loudspeaker: "Anyone out on the street will be shot." The curfew is lifted for one hour each morning, and children gather in the park while armed soldiers patrol. At night, the narrator tries to keep his little sister from crying and longs for his father and brother's return. He wishes that the people in the street could fly away when the gunshots ring out. Then, in the park with his friends, the narrator watches the wind in the trees and gets an idea: he makes a bright yellow kite in the shape of a star and flies it at night, where it soars above the rooftops and is soon joined by other kites. This story of resilience in the face of terror and loss brings to life situations that too many children worldwide are forced to live through, providing an important opportunity for processing the toll of war and political instability on families, communities, and children. The illustrations create a mood of fear with grayscale and shadow, while moments of hope and community are represented in the bright yellow of the kites, an effective visual metaphor. This rich story is an impressive, heart-rending representation of a child's struggle to retain innocence and optimism in the face of brutal forces outside of his control. Autumn Allen

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from April 1, 2021
The first-person account of a child living through military occupation. Though an author's note says the story was inspired by Palestinian children, neither text nor illustrations specify where or when it takes place. Instead, it recounts a young child's experience when soldiers in tanks occupy their town, taking father and brother away, which leaves the child with mother and a younger sibling. (The narrator has pale skin and dark hair, as do other family members.) The illustrations employ a muted palette of somber grays and browns with limited, expressive color indicating at turns danger and hope. The town is under a strict curfew, with the ever looming threat of the occupying force, though the art keeps overt violence off the page. Powerful compositions make the menace clear, such as one that foregrounds uniformed soldiers holding assault rifles with an array of staring children in the background looking tiny by comparison. The titular kite emerges as a symbol of hope and freedom when the child leads friends in making kites to fly above their town. When soldiers shoot them down, the child cuts the string and imagines it sailing away. With that act, the child imagines seeing what the kite sees. An affecting final scene shows the winged child flying above a vision of two figures standing by the sea. They can be read as the lost father and brother or perhaps as their spirits, lending a poignant ambiguity to the story's end. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 17.5% of actual size.) In a word, powerful. (Picture book. 5-8)

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July 1, 2021
This thought-provoking and haunting picture book is set in an unnamed city of gray buildings pushing smoke into a red cloud-lined sky. Soldiers occupy the town, and one day they take the young narrator's father and brother away. A curfew is announced from a loudspeaker: "Anyone out on the street will be shot." The curfew is lifted for one hour each morning, and children gather in the park while armed soldiers patrol. At night, the narrator tries to keep his little sister from crying and longs for his father and brother's return. He wishes that the people in the street could fly away when the gunshots ring out. Then, in the park with his friends, the narrator watches the wind in the trees and gets an idea: he makes a bright yellow kite in the shape of a star and flies it at night, where it soars above the rooftops and is soon joined by other kites. This story of resilience in the face of terror and loss brings to life situations that too many children worldwide are forced to live through, providing an important opportunity for processing the toll of war and political instability on families, communities, and children. The illustrations create a mood of fear with grayscale and shadow, while moments of hope and community are represented in the bright yellow of the kites, an effective visual metaphor. This rich story is an impressive, heart-rending representation of a child's struggle to retain innocence and optimism in the face of brutal forces outside of his control.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)