Henry & The Kite Dragon (Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in… (2004)

A Chinese boy becomes angry when the Italian boys in his New York City neighborhood keep destroying the beautiful kites the boy has helped to make. When he gathers his friends to seek revenge, what they gain instead is understanding.

This is a gorgeously illustrated story based on true events that has a positive message for readers of all ages. ( )

This was a good children's story. The tale was simple enough for young children to enjoy, but had enough substance that older young readers could get a lot out of it. This story is refreshing and noteworthy in that it deals directly with inter-racial/inter-cultural conflict among children, and shows how they can learn to understand each other and get along. Children have to deal with racism and a lack of understanding across cultures as much as adults, and the direct treatment of these issues makes it compelling for young people.

Teachers could use this book to talk about racism and inter-cultural conflict and conflict resolution with young students. It is a good example of how communication can help to overcome the distance between young people of different cultures, and could also be read or introduced after such conflict arises in classrooms between students to generate thought and discussion.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Media: Oil Pastels
Age Appropriateness: intermediate
This book is about a boy named Henry, his grandpa and their kite flying adventures. There are clear rules that the chinese children from China Town do not go to the park when the children from Little Italy are there. However when Henry and his grandpa fly kites over the park and they keep getting ruined by rocks the Italian children are throwing, the children come face to face. They soon discover that they have a lot in common and agree to share the sky. This is a good example of historical fiction because it is based off of events that happened in the 1920's. The character is very important to this book. The Italian children as a whole are dynamic characters because we see them change drastically throughout the story. ( )

A rather charming tale of cross-cultural (mis)understanding in 50's(?) New York City. ( )