Dragonfly Kites

Linda Ludke is a librarian at the London Public Library.

Joe and Cody, two young Cree brothers, spend their summers near a lake
in northern Manitoba. In this remote area, nature becomes their
playground and the boys delight in exploring the forests and beaches.
Using sticks and stones, they creatively devise new games and “made-up
toys.” They have many pets, including Arctic terns, chipmunks, and
even ants. In particular, Joe and Cody love playing with the darting
dragonflies. By attaching a piece of thread, they transform these
insects into “magic kites.” The boys run along behind, and then
gently release the dragonfly kites into the sunset. The siblings’
adventures continue in their dreams, as they imagine themselves soaring
together over islands and jumping “so high that they [don’t] come
down.”

As in Caribou Song (2001), the first book in the Songs of the North
trilogy, the text is written in both English and Cree. Brian Deines’s
impressionistic oil paintings capture the beauty of the landscape. The
softly focused and luminescent illustrations perfectly complement the
magical, dreamlike qualities of Tomson Highway’s text. Dragonfly Kites
is a lovely tribute to the powers of childhood play and imagination.
Highly recommended.