Title: Moonlight Kite
Author: Helen E. Buckley
Major Themes: Monks, Monasteries
Synopsis: When two children lose a kite in the yard of a crumbling monastery, a friendship develops between the children of the village and the three monks who live there.
Moonlight Kite is a fun picture book about three monks who live in an old, crumbling monastery. They have taken a vow of silence, and keep to themselves. When a brother and sister climb the hill to fly their kites, they debate whether there are any monks left in the monastery or not. One of the kites gets stuck in a tree and they have to leave it behind until the next day. The three monks can’t sleep, for thinking about that kite and the fun they had flying kites when they were young! Soon, there are kites flying from the hill day and night, and even though they never see each other the monks and the children become good friends.
The story in Moonlight Kite is lovely, and the illustrations are nice, as well. They are slightly stylized full-color paintings. This might be a good starting point to talk about monks and monasteries; I found the title in a list of books to accompany Story of the World Volume 2.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Listening Level—Ages 3 – 4, 5 – 8
Reading Independently—Ages 5 – 6, 7 – 9
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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