Helen E. Buckley

What a charming original fable; I've never read anything like it before. Interestingly, my edition has a plain orange-juice colored cover - no title text, and the yellow kite is almost hidden in the wash of yellow. In fact, only now, upon my third examination, do I see other details. One is made to wonder... why the title Moonlight Kite if the cover looks like sunshine? Open and find out....

I rated this book slightly higher than its cousin (Grandmother and I), but that's mostly because I like books about taking walks, slowing down and being outside. This book shares a child's attachment to her grandfather because he takes time to go her speed, and packs a gentle reminder for the grownups to slow down and enjoy. I think that choosing to slow down and espouse less is more is tantamount to a quiet rebellion, given that everything seems to scream for us to be efficient producers show more of, well, nearly everything. This grandfather has most likely worked hard and climbed his ladders, corporate or otherwise. He returns with the child to savor the simplest of life's pleasures. I'm encouraged not to wait till I'm 68 or 70 to do this. I can do it now. In the present. And if that means living in a smaller house and working fewer hours so that I can caress a crepe myrtle, so be it. Oy but the social security crisis is looming.

(all these musings from a simple children's book. such a world!) show less

A very endearing reminder that grandmother's laps are best. I am reminded of my own grandmother who had a rocking chair in the kitchen. She always had a paring knife and fruit or potatoes and she cut in counterpoint to the rhythm of the chair.

Young children can, I think, easily see from the child's perspective from which this book is written. Older readers may feel nostalgia for departed grandmothers. I like the way that grandmother's laps are contrasted with other peoples, thereby show more highlighting their virtues. show less

My library filled my request with the older edition, illustrated by [a:Paul Galdone|18444|Paul Galdone|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1482065190p2/18444.jpg]. I like his work just fine, but I expected the one w/ art by one of my favorites, [a:Jan Ormerod|77408|Jan Ormerod|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1340812603p2/77408.jpg]. The newer one looks to be more 'multicultural' ... I've not yet decided to ask for it specially....

In any case, it's an almost unbearably sweet story... show more well, more like a poem I guess, as there's no actual plot. Young me would have loved the rhythm of the language and the details in the pictures. They are awfully dated now, so I'm glad there's a new edition. This is so old there's even *measles* in it! Maybe I should get the newer edition just to see what was done on that page.
....
Actually, I decided to do a Google image search, and I can see some of the pictures, including one that apparently turns measles into "a bad cold." Good enough. I bet it's a delightful book and I hope you can find a copy to share with your little ones and their grandmother. show less