The Kite

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

The Kite is dedicated to the thousands of children who live in poverty
in Latin America. Readers are introduced to the “barrio” where young
Francisco lives, to the marketplace, and—most importantly—to his
dreams and hopes. His father has died, and life is very hard for
Francisco and his family.

The young boy makes three wishes every morning: that he can sell all
his newspapers, that his baby brother will be born soon, and that the
kite hanging in the market’s toy stall will still be there at the end
of each day. If only Papa had not died! But it’s a little sister who
is born with the aid of a neighbor, and Francisco is given a kite as a
gift in honor of her birth: “Life is full of surprises. Some are hard
to bear. Others are wonderful.”

Garay’s brief text is warm and sensitive, with every phrase and
sentence well formed. His colorful full-page illustrations catch the
flavor of a culture and a community, along with the boy’s inner world.
Garay, who was born and studied art in Granada, Nicaragua, now lives in
Toronto. His books, shaped by imagination and sympathy, show his
interest in the social issues of Latin America. Highly recommended.