HENRY AND THE KITE DRAGON

Henry Chu lives in Chinatown in the 1920s; his favorite thing to do is help Grandfather Chin create beautiful, elaborate kites and to fly them. Unfortunately, Tony Guglione and his friends from Little Italy (the next neighborhood over) do not possess the same respect and awe as Henry and his friends and in the opening sequence, it’s rocks from Italian kids that destroy one of Grandfather Chin’s most beautiful kites. Over and over again, they tear down these gorgeous creations until Henry and his friends confront the boys, only to learn that it’s how the kites frighten their homing pigeons that they don’t like. The boys reach a compromise, dividing the day’s flying between them. Hall’s story, based an incident in his father’s life, subtly teaches that bigotry and hatred is often based in ignorance. Low fills his pages with vibrant, glowing color for the kites and expressive faces that allow the reader to feel the passion, fear, and finally acceptance of the characters. The varying perspectives from street level to rooftop, from distance to close-up, all create a vividly imagined scene. An excellent resource for teaching diversity—and a little urban history as well. (Picture book. 5-9)