That all changes when the social upheaval of the Cultural
Revolution results in Tai Shan's father being sent away
to a labor camp. The child goes to live with his Granny
Wang but he does see his father every Sunday. Then one
day the little boy learns that his father won't be able
to visit once a week as he has done in the past.
I have an idea, Baba tells his son. Every
morning you can go to the hill to fly your red kite.
I will see it from my camp. Every sunset I will fly
my blue kite, so you can see it from here. That way
we can see each other every day.
This plan works well until one day the blue kite does
not appear in the sky. Why the kite isn't there and
what happens next in this story provides the substance
of the last part of this moving narrative. I'll let
you discover how this tale ends.
This special
story of the love a father and son share is set against
actual events that unfolded between 1966 and 1976. The
Cultural Revolution was one of the darker periods in Chinese
history and this book shows how it unsettled families.
Red Kite, Blue Kite would be appropriate reading for children
six years of age and older. It could be used as a way
of beginning a discussion on this major historical event
as well.