Spring! The wonderful season that brings with it hopes and promises also brings winds that toss kites on high. Here is the story of a boy named Malik who lives in Lahore, Pakistan and today is the day when he will compete with his kite, Falcon, to become the king of Basant.
He will need all of his skill to fight against the other kites in the sky especially the huge kite he has named Goliath that belongs to the bully next door. Will Goliath take down Falcon? Will the bully win?
Malik lives in a land of mosques and domes. This is a land of unfamiliar sights and traditions but reading this story opens up the understanding that despite how we live or where we live, we share so many common feelings and hopes. We want to root for the good guy and we hope the mean bully will get his comeuppance. We hope that Malik and his kite, Falcon, will have the skill to stand up against the meanness. We want good to win.
This is a lovely, playful story about a spring tradition in a far away land that is occasionally brought closer to us with flashes from the news. Those flashes are usually about battles and violence and upheaval. They are also about a culture that is foreign to us. But there is nothing foreign about a kite, or a bully or a spring day. That we understand perfectly.
A great read aloud to introduce Pakistan and its tradition of Basant to children.
Ages 5-9 978-160060 6595
Recommended by: Barb
