PPBF: Be The Kite…Inspiring Kids to Imagine and Soar

Posted on January 25, 2013 by viviankirkfield

Perfect Picture Book Friday…come and join Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic group of picture book writers, illustrators, librarians and others who contribute a picture book review.

A fellow 12x12er and local critique partner of mine sent me a link to an amazing YouTube video this morning. Watch this 80 year-old gentleman demonstrate multi-kite flying…he travels all around the world…I promise you will be entertained for five minutes…and inspired for the rest of your life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=nr9KrqN_lIg

Seeing the kite-flying video encouraged me to review Be The Kite!

Be The Kite

Written and illustrated by Cathi Bosco

Publisher: C & D Publishers (April 2012)

Ages: 2 and up

Themes:

Imagination, friendship, perceiving the world around us, kite-flying

Synopsis:

From Amazon’s book page: “Art – Literature – Imagination! Be the Kite is an inspired, original picture-book by artist Cathi Bosco. Her illustrations and story celebrate the nurturing nature of imaginative thinking. Each illustrated page from this book feature the kite-flying adventure of two great friends and are literally connected. If printed out, each page would fit together making one long continuous picture.”

Why do I like this book:

This is a beautiful book that encourages young children to use their imaginations and take a look at the world. In addition, the author/illustrator invites participation of young readers: ”all young artists are invited to participate in a collective drawing activity. Parents, teachers, librarians and kids can submit their artwork featuring Tilly, George and Pickles and we will proudly include all drawings at our website in The Young Artists Gallery! Details can be found at http://www.CandDStudios.com. Be the Kite is a visually creative picture-book that children from 3 – 10 LOVE! Enjoying creativity and seeing the world in new and different ways are meaningful experiences for people of all ages.”

Related Activities:

MAKING A KITE

Photo courtesy of eHow. You will find instructions for making many different types of kites with children here: http://www.ehow.com/how_5333244_make-kite-children.html

The author’s website where several activities can be found: http://www.bethekite.com/

If you want a step by step video showing how to make a kite that will really fly: http://www.ehow.com/video_4790375_make-paper-kite.html

I also wanted to share that the Asian Festival of Children’s Content has added to their website the speakers and program for this year’s event. I was thrilled to see my name…my trip to Singapore is definitely becoming more real: http://afcc.com.sg/_2013/speakers

I’m honored to be part of such a distinguished international line-up.

If you want a great resource that will give you 100’s of picture book summaries, easy matching crafts (sorry, no kites) and healthful child-friendly cooking activities, purchase a copy on Amazon (or my website) of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. At $24.95, this book makes a PERFECT gift for any parent or teacher of children ages 2-8…as well as for daycare providers and grandparents. No batteries required…powered by a child’s imagination! Buy your copy today!

Author Amy Kite Announces Her Recent Launch of Children’s Book:… (prweb.com)
PPBF! Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk (thiskidreviewsbooks.com)
International Kite Festival (easeyourtravel.wordpress.com)
PPBF: Parenting Advice from Andy Griffith…Set the Rules! (viviankirkfield.wordpress.com)

35 thoughts on “PPBF: Be The Kite…Inspiring Kids to Imagine and Soar”

Susanna Leonard Hill on January 25, 2013 at 4:37 pm said:

Ooh, this looks beautiful and fun, Vivian! I love kites! And what a great activity! Thanks for sharing 🙂

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- viviankirkfield on January 25, 2013 at 5:21 pm said:
  
  Thanks so much, Susanna! My husband and I used to love to fly kites…we had a park right near our home (in NYC) and we would fly kites every weekend in the nice weather. Hope you had a chance to watch that amazing video. 🙂
  
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patientdreamer on January 25, 2013 at 5:07 pm said:

What a great book and the video link is amazing. I remember having a kite when I was a kid and loved the quiet times with it, but I could never imagine being able to have three up at once. What an art.
Congratulations on being on the Asian Conference line up. If you get a chance to hook up with Chris Cheng and Susanne of the Aust/NZ SCBWI leaders maybe you could be persuaded to come out to an Australian Meet. (just thinking…) Then I could pop across the ditch. 🙂

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- viviankirkfield on January 25, 2013 at 5:31 pm said:
  
  What fun that would be, Diane! ‘Pop across the ditch’…love that!My son keeps encouraging me to think about extending my trip (as long as I have traveled half-way around the world) and doing some side excursions…perhaps connecting with people I blog with whom I never would have thought I would actually meet face-to-face. However, several factors…cost being one (the festival trip is being covered by the AFCC sponsors…but I’m sure they wouldn’t want to fund my extracurricular activities:) and my husband being the other (his health isn’t good…he is already anxious about a 10-day trip and I don’t think he would appreciate me extending it). I’m just thrilled to have this opportunity…we’ll see what happens.I will definitely check out all the other attendees…I just looked at the list quickly…but there are people from many different countries…I would love to connect with other SCBWI members!Glad you took the time to watch the video….my spirit is still ‘flying high’ every time I visualize what I saw.:)
  
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Patricia Tilton on January 25, 2013 at 5:08 pm said:

On a cold, snowy day, what a light and happy share. Sounds like a beautiful book for imaginative kds. I remember making my own kites as a kid.

Congratulations on being invited to the Asian Children’s Festival in Singapore. This one is significant. You’re among some notable people. Have fun!

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- viviankirkfield on January 25, 2013 at 5:35 pm said:
  
  Oh my gosh, Pat…don’t I know it! I am truly honored to be on that list…and I guess what they want me to address is how I got there…it was, after all,through blogging…which I started in order to connect with people and spread the word about my book.Glad you liked the book choice…kites are magical…for me they epitomize the imagination of a child…with the ability to soar to great heights.
  
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  - Patricia Tilton on January 25, 2013 at 6:58 pm said:
    
    Myra Grace is wonderful. You’ll have fun! Leonard Marcus was he keynote last year and he had a ball!
    
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    - viviankirkfield on January 25, 2013 at 9:23 pm said:
      
      Thanks for the encouragement, Pat! I plan to scour the speaker list and try to connect with as many as I can…either visiting their web/blog sites or following on Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
      
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Joanna on January 26, 2013 at 3:21 am said:

Congratulations on being invited to the Asian Children’s festival in Singapore. Will you meet up with Myra Garces-Bascal of Gathering Books? She’s a wonderful fellow blogger and CYBILS judge with me this year.

I love the kite scene at the end of Mary Poppins – wonderful imaginative PPBF choice this week.

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- viviankirkfield on January 26, 2013 at 12:11 pm said:
  
  Thanks, Joanna…you can imagine I am totally thrilled and honored…and a little bewildered…keep pinching myself and asking if this is real.:) Yes, I think I will meet up with Myra…she was very active in the AFCC last year…I need to get myself over to her blog and follow it and connect with her.:) Glad you liked the book…kites are magical, aren’t they?
  
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Wendy Greenley on January 26, 2013 at 7:45 am said:

My kites always chase me, and divebomb my head. I’m in awe of the folks who can get these babies to soar. The book looks fascinating.

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- viviankirkfield on January 26, 2013 at 4:43 pm said:
  
  That is so funny, Wendy. My husband and I flew kites a lot when we were first married…and we had plenty that dive-bombed us also.:) I believe the gentleman in the video uses ‘stunt’ kites…so perhaps they work differently from the type you and I had.:)
  
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Kirsten Larson on January 26, 2013 at 7:52 am said:

What a cool idea to have a Web tie-in for a book. Brilliant!

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- viviankirkfield on January 26, 2013 at 12:13 pm said:
  
  When I saw the video, Kirsten, I knew I had to find a book for PPBF that would fit with it…I just had to share it with all of you. It was so inspiring…not only the beauty of the kite artistry and the music…but the fact that he is 80 years old.
  
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Tracy Campbell on January 26, 2013 at 4:06 pm said:

A very “uplifting” post, Vivian! 🙂

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- viviankirkfield on January 26, 2013 at 4:39 pm said:
  
  So right, Tracy.:)
  
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colonialist on January 26, 2013 at 4:09 pm said:

Great review of a really imaginative book.
I know the work that goes into this, after having entered into a partnership with an illustrator to provide the writing/formatting/music composition part of a series which has theme tunes for all the characters. Far more effort was involved than on any of my fantasy novels for older readers!

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- viviankirkfield on January 26, 2013 at 4:41 pm said:
  
  Thank you so much for your kind comment.:) I’ll be back to visit your blog again…you are very talented!
  
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Jarm Del Boccio on January 26, 2013 at 8:15 pm said:

What a unique book, Vivian…good find!

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- viviankirkfield on January 26, 2013 at 9:01 pm said:
  
  Thanks, Jarm. I was thrilled…looked at quite a few kite books for kids before I picked this one to review.:)
  
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Sandi Purdell-Lewis on January 26, 2013 at 8:35 pm said:

At the beginning of this school year, all of the kids in my school were buddied up and each duo made a kite (from a kit). Each afternoon the school field was filled with groups of kids flying their kites, enjoying being outside and enjoying being part of a community project. It sounds like Be THe Kite is a perfect complement.

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- viviankirkfield on January 26, 2013 at 9:00 pm said:
  
  Thanks so much for sharing your school’s kite project…how awesome! I applaud your school for realizing the importance of physical activity, common goals, teamwork…and the magical quality of kite-flying.:)
  
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nrhatch on January 26, 2013 at 8:58 pm said:

Wonderful! Flying kites and listening to them snapping in the breeze is great fun . . . especially on the beach.

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- viviankirkfield on January 26, 2013 at 9:03 pm said:
  
  Yes, Nancy…let’s legislate for at least an hour a day for kids to fly kites!!!!!
  
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Perfecting Motherhood on January 26, 2013 at 11:43 pm said:

That video is so impressive, I had to share it on Youtube. Thanks for showing it.

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- viviankirkfield on January 27, 2013 at 3:03 pm said:
  
  Glad you liked the video, Milka. I was so amazed and impressed and inspired.:)
  
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Iggy (@BeTheBreeze) on January 31, 2013 at 1:25 pm said:

Hi Vivian, My friends call me Iggy, but my real name is Cathi Bosco. I am the Author/Illustrator of Be the Kite! What a thrill to be included in your very nice review. Thanks!! I plan to publish a short video of the story – if you could stretch out the entire book, each illustrated page would connect and create one super long single illustration. We are on the “look out” for awesome kite content to share on the website, we love showcasing kid’s drawings and naturally we love promoting “doing fun things together”. This is a fun and loving story to read with children before bedtime.

The last line in the story: “It doesn’t matter what we do, it’s simply nice to BE with you.” Positive Parental Participation obviously embraces active participation too. Very nice to meet this special community!
Cathi

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- viviankirkfield on January 31, 2013 at 4:51 pm said:
  
  Hello there, Cathi! How lovely of you to stop by…I’m glad you liked the review…I LOVED your book…unique, uplifting…right up my alley.:)
  I hope we can continue connecting. Many of the people who comment on my blog are picture book authors and illustrators…librarians…teachers…moms…who love picture books and children. I hope you come back again.:)
  
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  - Iggy (@BeTheBreeze) on February 1, 2013 at 7:24 am said:
    
    Thanks again Vivian – wanted you to know Be the Kite! has its own web site http://www.bethekite.com – I have some terrific red diamond kites we are pairing with the book. They will be available with the book next week on the web site. The fly great, we had fun with them in Loveland Colorado this fall.
    I subscribed to the site and look forward to participating in the community here.
    Cathi
    
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    - viviankirkfield on February 1, 2013 at 12:06 pm said:
      
      Oh Cathi…what a lovely connection this is with you…I am so happy you are following my blog!
      Yes, this is an AMAZING and VIBRANT community…filled with children’s authors, illustrators, writers of all kinds, educators, librarians, parents…all who love books and children.:) There are many challenges for picture book writers that have just started up for the new year…perhaps some may be right for you. Author Julie Hedlund’s 12×12 provides the opportunity to submit a picture book manuscript to an agent EVERY month:http://www.juliehedlund.com/12-x-12/
      And author Susanna Leonard Hill offers weekly creative writing prompts, opportunities to have story pitches critiqued by the community, writing contests and so much more:http://susannahill.blogspot.com
      Welcome aboard, Cathi…it’s great to have you here!
      
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Stacy Stenberg Jensen on February 1, 2013 at 12:49 am said:

This looks like a great one for Enzo.

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- viviankirkfield on February 1, 2013 at 9:06 pm said:
  
  Yes, I think he would love it, Stacy! If you have a chance, visit the author’s website…activities for kids and more are there!
  
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