Interesting details about kite making, flying kites, and competition. Boys have a strong desire to win, but don't want to break the rules. Quick read. ( )

Similar but not the same, two Korean brothers negotiate kite making and lessons in pride, custom, and sibling rivalry. Young-Sup’s strikes a bargain with a kite seller to gain the reel that his Father has denied him, he wins the bargain and show great modesty in his win. The King of Korea is a boy nearly the same age as Kee-Sup and Young-Sup; when the King ventures out to find out who the owner of the tiger kites he sees from his palace, he meets the two and commissions Kee-Sup in the building of a kite of his own. Sibling rivalry ensues as his Father orders Young-Sup not to argue with Kee-Sup since he has been capped. Custom dictates that the family honor rests on the first born. The most enjoyable part is how Parks captures the “sameness” in boys, whether you are a King or just a pig-brain boy, and the joy that swells when Kee-Sup stands up to his Father in asking permission for Young-Sup to fly for the King.
If You Like This, Try: The Firekeeper’s Son by Linda Sue Park, Seesaw Girl by Linda Sue Park, A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park, When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park, Bee-bin Bop! By Linda Sue Park.
Awards: Linda Sue Park won a Newbery Medal for A Single Shard in 2002. ( )