THE KITE FIGHTERS

THE KITE FIGHTERS by Linda Sue Park

he Kite Fighters is a beautiful story about the relationship between Korean brothers, Young-sup and Kee-sup, and the honor of good character.

Young-sup, as the younger brother, is always to show respect and to support his older brother, Kee-sup. For the most part, Young-sup handles this well, but when a chance meeting occurs with the king over kites, a situation unfolds that could call all of his training about this into question. The king requests that Young-sup fly a kite representing him in the kite fighting competition. Young-sup knows that honor should be given to his older brother, but he wants it so badly, and Kee-sup is not that good at the art of kite fighting anyway. Through this struggle the weight of tradition, the love of a brother, and the honor of a king must all be weighed very carefully. Linda Sue Park does a masterful job at portraying all of these important components vital to the Asian culture.

A second, very notable part of this story, is the outcome of the kite fight. In our current world of dirty playing, dog-eat-dog styled sports, the idea being a worthy winner and a good loser is spectacularly defined. This is the type of stuff that makes our momma hearts sing! This book is well worth reading!

HEADS UP- There are some brief mentions of the family's religious practices that include the honoring of passed relatives' spirits.