Red Kite Blue Kite

Red Kite Blue Kite is truly a touching story. The relationship between a father and a son cannot be broken even through the toughest of times. Tai Shan, the son, loves to fly his red kite and his father, Baba, would fly a blue one. They would go to the roof of their home and fly them together all the time. But then bad times come and Baba is taken to a labor camp. Tai Shan is sent to live with Granny Wang. Baba comes up with a secret way for him and his son to keep in touch with one another. The same day of the week, at the same time, Tai Shan would fly his red kite and Baba would fly his blue kite. They fly the kites until Baba is freed. Then Baba surprises Tai Shan with hundreds of red and blue kites. The kites were freed just like Baba.

I thought this book was a great picture book. The illustrations and the meaning behind the story were incredible. Once again, this story looked at the Chinese culture. I have noticed that war and dictatorship is a common theme between these stories. This is a part of the culture that I would want to explore more about. This book was inspired by the Cultural Revolution in China and I think it is important for kids to learn what that means. In this book, Granny Wang explains to Tai Shan that the leaders do not like his father because he thinks differently than most. This is a problem that a lot of other cultures deal with as well. This book would be a great stepping stone of finding out more about the Chinese culture. A lesson that I would like to do with my future students is having them create their own way of communicating with someone if they were not allowed to talk or see them. For my upper elementary students, I would want them to find the symbolism of the kites in the story. An enjoyable book and definitely one that I would want to include in my future classroom library.

Red Kite Blue Kite

Author: Ji-li Jiang

Illustrator: Greg Ruth

Year Published: 2013