Publishers Weekly
Eulate and Wimmer offer a forceful vision of hope for Afghanistan’s future, told from the perspective of “a little Afghan girl who doesn’t stop dreaming.” A kite that “struggles against the wind” serves as a metaphor for the country’s efforts to rise up; in one of Wimmer’s sweeping pencil spreads, a map of Afghanistan becomes a kite itself, its red tails unspooling toward a crowd that includes a woman in a burqa, a father holding his daughter, and a soldier. Red poppies, a flower blooming from a tank, and a ragtag collection of toys with joined hands are among the many inspirational images that underscore the book’s message of peace. Ages 5–7. (Oct.)
Children's Literature
- Karen Leggett
With delicate poetry and soft, wispy art, Ana de Eulate and Sonja Wimmer turn children's kites into dreams, with a young narrator flying "between the clouds of the country I love: Afghanistan." In a country we know primarily for its sobering images of a dark reality, the little Afghan girl is innocent and angelic, floating among ethereal images of clouds and kites, dreaming that "we all hold hands, and we are all given a new opportunity to leave our footprints for all eternity." De Eulate effectively uses kites—a cultural icon of Afghanistan—and the innocence of a child to convey a universal and eternal hope for this war-torn land. It is also significant to note that in spite of tragedy and immeasurably hard lives, there remains hope and love of country. The illustrations are gently drawn but provocative: a hibiscus flower bursting from a tank; soldiers, elders and toddlers watching a map of Afghanistan floating like a kite; and finally, the people of Afghanistan balancing on the kite string—fragile, yet resilient: "...and then we will all walk together, hand in hand, along the same path...." Reviewer: Karen Leggett
School Library Journal
K-Gr 2—An Afghan girl dreams of peace. She imagines herself and her fellow countrymen flying like kites in the sky, a metaphor that is repeated ad nauseum throughout the book. There is no plot, just this redundant wishing for a different world. No background as to what has prompted this longing is provided. It is difficult to imagine a child of any age being able to make sense of such statements as, "We are all given a new opportunity to leave our footprints for all eternity" or "please forgive me if my eyes fill with tears" when there is no context. At times the text is awkward and ungrammatical. The illustrations, which appear to be done in pastel, are well composed but cannot salvage the text. Jeanette Winter's Nasreen's Secret School (S & S, 2009) and Dedie King's I See the Sun in Afghanistan (Satya House, 2011) are better choices for introducing children to the situation in Afghanistan.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
