Fish in the Air

by Kurt Wiese

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Asia

28 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 1948

About the author

Kurt Wiese was a book illustrator. Wiese wrote and illustrated 20 children's books and illustrated another 300 for other authors.

From an early age Kurt Wiese dreamed of being a painter but his family opposed it and sent him to learn the export business. For six years he lived and worked in China selling merchandise. During World War I, he was captured by the Japanese, and turned over to the British. He spent five years as a prisoner, most of them in Australia, where his fascination with the animal life inspired him to start sketching again. When he was released, he returned to Germany where he was able to sell all of the artwork he had created while he was detained, in spite of having no formal training. He traveled to Brazil for three years and then to the United States where he was hired by Collier's magazine.

Between 1927 and 1931 Wiese wrote and illustrated 7 books and illustrated 26 books for other authors. In 1930 he married Gertrude Hansen, a real estate agent, and they bought a little farmhouse near Frenchtown, New Jersey, where Wiese set up a studio in an old blacksmith shop. He lived and worked there until his death in 1974.

In total, during a career of over half a century, Kurt Wiese illustrated over 400 books. He wrote and illustrated 18 books of his own, two of which were Caldecott Honor books.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Another win by Kurt Wiese. He must have enjoyed Chinese culture. This is a story about a boy named Little Fish. His family liked to get him things that have to do with fish, like shoes and lanterns. His father bought him a big fish kite and a big wind blows up and takes Little fish away in the sky where he is eventually caught by a fisherman.

It is so clever and a real task for Chinese culture. The skin tone of the people is very yellow and I assume they didn’t have better or more colors back in the 40s to make it look less bright. I love the art work here. It reminds me of paintings of China I have seen, but for children with bright colors. Something weird that bothers me is that Kurt will break a sentence in the middle and go

to the next page. That irks me. Finish your sentence and then go, but it matches up with the pictures so I get it. Still irks me.

On almost every page there are Chinese characters around, some I even recognize. I love this book. The kids enjoyed it too. They both gave it 4 stars. I want to read all of Kurt’s books if I can. They are amazing. I love that about Caldecott- I’ve been introduced to some new authors from the past that are amazing that I never would have learned of. Wanda Gag is the same way.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story about the havoc a young boy accidentally causes with his fish kite, is a funny folk tale from China which is filled with references to the country’s language and culture. I love the way the illustrator uses the eyes of his characters to establish certain moods - of surprise, curiosity, etc. - and to direct the reader’s eye toward certain areas of each picture. It’s the kind of story preschoolers and early elementary schoolers get a huge kick out of, and the ending made me smile, too.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this cute story.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it racist to say that Chinese people fly kites?

I'm not really sure whether this book is racist or not. It's kind of hard to tell. I guess I would need to be better informed about the kind of stereotypes that people had about the Chinese in America in 1948. I mean, it's true that there are lantern festivals and such in China. I assume they fly kites there. I've seen other books where they fly kites in China, but those were pretty dated too, so they could also be stereotypical. I don't know. Is it racist to say that Chinese people fly kites? Probably not.

A little boy-- for some reason his name is Fish, I don't know if that's a common thing in China-- asks his dad to buy him a huge kite, and there's a gust of wind and he sails off into the air and falls into the water and gets caught by a fisherman, and then his dad asks to buy the "Fish that he caught" for a silver dollar. Despite the fact that they don't, and probably didn't in 1948, use dollars as money in China. The father speaks in slightly broken English. I don't think anybody else speaks in broken English, although there's not a lot of dialogue. You would think that he would speak in perfect English, because it takes place in China, and they certainly wouldn't be speaking to each other in English. That's kind of a weird convention, but I'm not sure whether it's racist. It's just weird. There's really no moral to this book. It's just kind of a funny story. It's silly. And possibly racist. Who knows. Probably Chinese people would know if it's racist. I'm not Chinese, sorry.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

• 1949 Caldecott Honor Book •

I think the story and the illustrations are great, but I could do without the yellow faces (which I think were just a sign of the times, especially as Kurt Wiese seemed really interested in China spending several years living there and writing several books about China.)

The story is really cute - Little Fish loves anything fish themed - his mom makes him a pair of fish shoes (one of my favorite illustrations) and he has a fish lantern. So his asks his dad, Big Fish, to buy him the biggest fish kite there is. His dad obliges, and soon after Little Fish takes hold of the kite, a big rush of wind lifts him off the ground. When Little Fish finally lands back on the ground, he asks his dad for the “smallest fish kite there is”.

A fun story, and I love all the bright colors in it.

Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: Weiss Types

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I managed to slip this short read into our bedtime story routine last night. The book won a 1949 Caldecott Honor. This is only my second Kurt Wiese book but he seems to predominantly write books about China, and the books are a little dated, as evidenced by the clothing in the story. This was a cute story about a young Chinese boy named Young Fish who wants to fly the biggest Fish kite. His father, Old Fish, buys it for him and on the way to flying it, Young Fish promptly gets swept away by a strong wind and end up in the river. He is caught by a napping fisherman, and rescued by his father. He quickly decides that he would much rather have the smallest fish kite. Recommended for ages 3-7, 3 stars.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun story, and unlike You Can Write Chinese, Wiese pulled off a solid product here. Interestingly, the book starts with a young boy, Fish, writing his name in Chinese characters on large sheets of paper. But from then on, the entire story is plot-driven, filled with an unraveling plan and amusing encounters. The paintings have a dated feel, but they all capture the sense of village or town life. Some of the illustrations reminded me of Herge's Tin Tin books. I think young children will enjoy this treasure from 1948.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story about a Chinese boy named Fish who has an adventure flying through the air attached to a large fish kite. Pictures are very brightly colored and the story is genuinely funny; this is perhaps my favorite kite story of those I've read so far. The Chinese people are depicted with yellow faces which may offend some readers, but overall it was an enjoyable read and would be a good read aloud.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the story and the illustrations, the pictures were kind of caricatureish and I wondered about the author/illustrator and his knowledge of Chinese culture. How accurate was his depiction? How stereotypical? Of course, it wasn't a problem when this book was written, I'm sure. I did enjoy the illustrations with their vibrant colors and lots of action.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a Chinese boy named Fish who is taken up into the air by his kite. While the story is funny, I found the illustrations of Chinese people rather stereotypical and kind of like a caricature. They literally have yellow skin and slants for eyes. I realize that people were not as PC in 1948, but good the be aware of it now.

[Sammie Ortiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining book to read! I love how the character had everything in the forms of fish. Also, the pictures were cool! This book was about a different culture, and the illustrations gave it more of that culture. I enjoyed the ending with the father, it was a funny way to end the book!

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great drawings. Funny story. And who'd name their child "fish?"
Caldecott honor

[Megan_davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to the kids for story boost and they loved it. They thought it was funny and wanted to try and fly with a kite like Fish did.

[Laura5 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review to come...

Special visit to the Minneapolis Central Library to view reference copy.

[Brindi Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

1949 Caldecott Honor

[Emily Gingrich · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought the joke at the end was funny, but overall I was not fond of the pictures. The offsetting colors took away from the story for me.

[Emma Linder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked reading about the Asian culture in this book! I don’t think the moral of this story is extremely obvious though.

[Kirsten Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Caldecott Honor Book - 1949

[Grace Goodfellow · Rating 4 out of 5]

very adventurous with lots of cultural references.

[MaryAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute ending which for me redeemed this story. Illustrations are only okay. Caldecott Honor Book

[Laurel Zeisler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly story.

[Lorna · Rating 2 out of 5]

1949 Caldecott Honor

Favorite line: The boy in talking to his father after his adventure. "Honorable Fish, I want you to buy me the smallest Fish Kite there is."

Favorie illustration: When the boy, who has taken flight with his kite first goes out over the river.

Kid-appeal today: I wasn't too drawn to this on, but curiously my kids were. The illustrations are especially noteworthy because they used quite a variety of colors--violets, purples, blues, yellows which weren't well represented in other books of the time period.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

A boy named Little Fish has a father also named Fish, and the boy really likes fish. When he sees others with kites, he asks his father to buy him a fish kit. In a big wind gust, the boy is taken up in the air with his kite. A bird attacks the kite, and the boy uses his starched clothes to slowly fall into the sea. He gets caught in a fisherman's net, and his father pays the fisherman for his son.

I thought the story was kind of ridiculous. (Who just up and buys their kid something? Was it his birthday or something? But I digress...) I thought the artwork and colors were okay.

[Sarah May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out my review at http://www.littlebooksontheprairie.com!

[Kathryn Dooley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young boy named Fish lived in China with his parents. Everything he owned and everything he did was fish. One day Fish asked his father to take him to town to buy the biggest fish kite they could find. Finally, at the last shop they found the biggest fish kite of them all. However, when the two rounded the corner, there was a giant gust of wind that lifted the kite, and Fish, right off the ground. The two were sent sailing through the country side. They finally ended up at the river where a fish hawk destroyed the kite by trying to eat it. The young boy fell to the water, into a fisherman's net, and was returned to land. From there he asked his father to buy him the smallest fish kite instead of the largest.

This book was honestly kind of strange. It was unlike anything I had previously read. It had different aspects of Chinese culture tied in, which was pretty interesting to read about. However, the actual plot was a bit strange. Nevertheless, the lesson about bigger not always being better was still portrayed well.