Author: Mercer Mayer
Illustrator: Mercer Mayer
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Publication Date: 1999
Genre: Multi-Cultural, Folktale, Picture Book
Audience: Gr. 1-3
Awards: Young Hoosier Book Award nominee
Overview: Princess Shibumi who has only seen the beauty of her palace and garden is shocked to see the poverty stricken town that surrounds her palace. She has the royal kite maker build her a kite and tells her father, the Emperor, that she will not come down until the city is as beautiful as the palace or the palace is as beautiful as the city. When the kite takes Shibumi away her father vows to rebuild the city. This touching story has beautiful computer generated images that draw the reader in.
Activity: After reading the story have children make their own kite and write a brief paragraph on what they would want to see change in their own town.
Reviewer’s Name: Alison Jacovics
