Review of "The Kite and the Boy," by Aaron Duffy

Review of

The Kite and the Boy, by Aaron Duffy ISBN 9781478789901

Five out of five stars

 Although we humans naturally tend to assign human emotions to the toys and other objects we hold dear, we all have experienced situations where they do seem to have an independent mental existence. In this case, the beloved toy is a beautiful kite and a young boy spent every penny he had to acquire it.

 The kite has a sturdy frame, which allows it to fly high and tug very strongly on the string. Despite the height it achieves, the kite wants to fly even higher and farther, exceeding the distance that the boy will allow. Finally, the kite’s efforts are “rewarded” and the string snaps and the kite soars away.

 However, being free also means being at the mercy of the wind currents and the kite crashes into a tree. The boy starts crying at the loss of his beloved kite, yet when he sees it plummeting from the sky and lodging in a tree he climbs the tree and retrieves it.

 The boy manages to patch the kite so that it can fly again and both boy and toy learn a valuable lesson. For the boy, he learns that things you value are not easily lost and the kite learns that the urge to break away and be free is often fraught with unexpected dangers. This is a good story with a simple lesson and happy ending that children can understand.