CLIP Review: The Boy, The Kite, & The Wind

Author: Al Andrews           
Illustrator: Jonathan Bouw 

Think back to your childhood - riding your bike, roller skating, ice skating, flying kites, jumping rope, playing tag, hopscotch...are you smiling? I am. Those were good times. And yet if I were honest, I'd have to admit that those times also gave me way more than my fair share of skinned knees, scraped elbows, bumps, bruises and tears. So why was I smiling? I believe that God has put into the heart and fabric of children a resiliency to expect and hope through disappointment. 


This is a story of tears and a story of hope, of something lost yet something found. To the young listener, perhaps only the story of a boy and a kite; but mostly, to the reader who is ready to dig deeper, it's about the wind that carries a message of its own.


Don't be fooled when the last page of the book says "The End"...turning the page may cause you to catch your breath.

                                             Suggested ages: 7 years and older

The author, Al Andrews, shared these thoughts with me. "I'd encourage parents to allow younger non-readers to look at the pictures and try to tell the story BEFORE  it is read. Then the parent could read the story, trying their hand at explaining words like 'memory', 'mystery' and 'greedy' ". He went on to share that the book does speak about the reality of sorrow in our lives, but that "there is a larger force at work in the world that can lift you up."


Click here to visit the book's website.  Find out how to order this book to enjoy with your family AND to make a difference.  What an exciting opportunity!


CLIP Questions:

1. What thoughts did you have when you saw the picture of the bird in its nest?
2.  Can gladness come from sadness? How?