Henry & The Kite Dragon

by Bruce Edward Hall, William Low (Illustrator)

Everyone knows that kids from Chinatown don't go to the park when the kids from Little Italy are there. They're rough, they're big, and they don't like Chinese kids. That's okay-Henry doesn't like them, either. But what Henry does like are kites. He loves them. Even more, he loves to help his friend Grandfather Chin make them, and fly them over Chinatown and the park. But when Tony Guglione and his friends from Little Italy keep throwing rocks and destroying their beautiful creations, Henry and his friends decide enough is enough! In this touching story based on true 1920's events, two rival groups of children representing two different cultures come face to face, and when they do, they find they share much more than just the same sky.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Cultural, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Animals

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 2004

Reviews

[Karen Witzler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good children's picture book set in 1920's Chinatown and Little Italy in NYC. Two groups of neighborhood children, two perspectives. Chinese kite-flying and making and the keeping of homing pigeons on city rooftops come into play.Well-written with fine illustrations.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good one. At first I thought little Tony Gugglione was gonna go Tony Soprano on the Chinese kids for stepping on his turf....then I remembered it was a children’s book

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the kites from Chinatown clash with the pigeon pets in Little Italy, both learn an important lesson!

Features beautifully crafted kites!


Read / supplemented for our LA/GEO Chinese unit.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry and the Kite Dragon is based on true events in New York City’s Chinatown area during the 1920s. The book opens with incredibly detailed illustration of Doyers Street, the smallest, busiest, and most crooked street in Chinatown. The story focuses on a rivalry between the children who live in Chinatown and Little Italy, highlighting the lack of understanding of between the two cultures and their traditions. The major feud between the two groups was centered around the kites the Chinese children cherish built by Mr. Chin. The Chinese children thought the Italian children were senselessly destroying the intricate kites for their enjoyment. While the Italians were in fact throwing rocks at the kites, they were doing so in an attempt to protect their homing pigeons. This book has beautifully detailed drawings and is extremely well-written. I would utilize this book in my classroom by first reading it aloud and have my students write a response. Once my students have responded individually, I would have them come together to share ideas and conduct more research on the time period and immigration to the United States. This book is appropriate for students from first grade to fourth grade.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on true events, this story tells how two different cultures clash over the use of a small park in their neighbor, and what brought them together to understand and accept each other's diverse interests.

[Crissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book!

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on a true story, this is a tale about far more than kites. The main character, Henry, loves the kites that fly in Chinatown. So do his friends. So does his Grandfather Chin, who helps to make those kites.

Kids from Little Italy are into having a different kind of fun, throwing rocks and trying to take down as many kites as they can.

These could be two rival gangs in New York, yet they're just little boys. Altogether the story is very adult, yet entirely suitable for children; that suitablity is important, since many picture books that show the ugly side of American history, in my view, can prove too disturbing for kids under ten. But this book could be just fine.

Eventually the two groups of kids start talking. When "great big Tony Guglione actually started to cry"? Reading this story, I had a head start on him.

Conversations like the beautiful ones toward the end of this book could make such a difference. Seems to me, better communication can contribute make a difference for social justice. A difference politically. And a difference for everybody's humanity.

We Americans must learn how to talk about race, to talk about different cultures, and to be open to good reasons WHY people sometimes do what they do. Then we'll have the standing to create solutions.

FIVE STARS for a beautiful book that was so meaningful to me. Such an enobling story to read to your children!

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade: 3-5

I have memories of visiting Chinatown in California and especially the beginning description reminded me of those visits. This book was beautifully written and has so many important messages and themes! I would love to share this book with my future classes and talk about conflict resolution and different traditions. It also makes me want to try and make a kite!

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

#kite #Chinese #Italian #NewYork #YoungReaders #PictureBook #BookReview #ChildrensBooks #amreading When Henry flies the kite, it is always ripped out by the Italian kids. Henry finally figures out how to fly the kite!

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the cutest kids book I've read in ages. The students learned a lot of valuable lessons from this inspired look at different cultures in 1920s New York City. It's beautifully illustrated and has great potential for re-reads.

[Kandrea Cheney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this picture book! The illustrations are so well done and realistic that they almost look like photographs. The colorful kites pop throughout the story. This is a story of two cultures that have a conflict but they come together in the end after learning a bit about one another.

[Emily Overtoom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a classroom read aloud for my 3rd grade students and they loved it! They were extremely engaged with the story and even made connections to our in class learning about China and the importance of dragons in Chinese culture!

[Ebjourney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story based on a true story of a boy growing up in Chinatown, Grandfather Chin who made kites and flew them from the top of a building, and a conflict that gets cleared up in the end. This book is a beautifully illustrated book, and the story is much appreciated.

[Lupita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book about pigeons and kites back in the day.

[Megan Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it when Grandfather made the bullies come in and paint the kites. I will use this book to get an art project going in the class helping with visualization.

[Sydney Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great conflict resolution and cross-cultural understanding.

[zunggg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather charming tale of cross-cultural (mis)understanding in 50's(?) New York City.

[Addison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book and want to have it in my classroom. I think this book shows great teamwork and will be good use for students.

[Tonya Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my Kindergarteners, and they absolutely loved it! It sparked great discussions about bullying, assumptions, conflict resolution, and new friendships. Some of the vocabulary used in this book was a bit over their level of comprehension, but we talked about unknown words and the important issues in the book were discussed during and after reading.

Summary: This story is told from the point of view of Henry Chu, an 8-year-old boy, who lives in Chinatown. He tells about the little things in life he enjoys with his family and friends, but his favorite thing to do is to build beautiful kites with an old man that him and his friends call Grandfather Chin (using grandfather before his name is a sign of respect for his age). Henry and Grandfather Chin make them and fly them over Chinatown and the park, but run into a problem when Tony Guglione and his friends destroy them by throwing rocks at them. The butterfly and caterpillar kites were ruined, and Henry and his friends wanted to fight Tony and his friends from Little Italy. However, Grandfather Chin thought that making an amazing dragon kite would be a better idea because everyone respects the dragon. Again, the kite was being attacked, and Henry and his friends marched right to the park where Tony and his friends were leaving Grandfather Chin on the roof with the dragon. After some arguing, the beautiful dragon began to fly over them. Henry and his friends finally find out the reason why Tony and his friends threw rocks at the beautiful kites. The kites that fly over the parks are scaring away their homing pigeons that the Italian kids keep as pets. Both groups of friends finally understand each other and come to a peaceful agreement: Henry and his friends will fly the kites in the morning, and the pigeons will be able to fly freely in the afternoon. The final kite Grandfather Chin made was a giant pigeon.

Characteristics to Support Genre: This book is a historical realistic fiction book because it takes place in the 1920s and is written based on true events. It is also multicultural literature because it provides insight into the Chinese culture and bit of Italian culture.

Concepts Integrated: bullying, assumptions, friendship, Chinese & Italian culture, Chinese New Year

Other Suggestions that could be useful regarding literary content, reading level, and other ways in which the book might be integrated: 3-5
Community Building: This book is a great one to discuss community building and about not making assumptions about people. It also stresses the importance of talking about disagreements using words rather than fighting.
Social Studies: Students could explore the history behind flying kites around the world. How are they made? Which countries have this tradition? They could participate in research using books and teacher-approved online resources and then present their findings.
Science: Students could explore what it takes to fly a kite. They could discuss and research what helps kites fly? Which conditions are optimal?
Art: Children can make their own mini-kites.

This website has links that are great starting places for research:
http://www.nationalkitemonth.org/teac...

Youtube Video of Read Aloud:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uGM9...

[Brooke Bradford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot: Henry a Chinese boy living in Chinatown, New York is great friends with an old man in his building called Mr. Chin or Grandfather. Henry enjoyed helping Mr. Chin make all sorts of beautiful kites to fly over Chinatown and Little Italy, but Tony a boy that lives in Little Italy and his friends kept throwing rocks and destroying the kites that they had made. This became a problem so Henry and his friends went to the park to confront Tony and his friends, and tell them to stop tearing up their kites. As this seemed to be a problem the boys soon came to find that this was just a big misunderstanding and worked things out.

Literary Merit: The setting was vivid not only through the text, but through the pictures also. The setting is set in New York City in the 1920's in Chinatown. The setting allows the reader to visualize themselves in this type of time period and also learn about what it might have looked liked during this time."Chinatown is very small- pretty much just three tiny streets, all narrow and crooked, like a village in China would be." The Characterization is the same way. "His name is Mr. Chin, but we kids call him Grandfather. He is little and old now, and always wears a sweater with holes and worn-out brown slippers." This book is based on true events, so setting and the illustrations make a lot of sense when reading it.

Genre Considerations: This book is a considered a historical fiction, and received Notable Books For a Global Society in 2005. This book is based on true events of an old man by the name of Mr. Chin that lived in Chinatown, New York City in the 1920's that had children help him make beautiful kites. This is considered historical fiction because it of the true events and time period, but it is fiction because not the entire story is true. This book is diverse and talks about the Chinese that lived in Chinatown, and the traits they value. This allows the reader to not only learn about something in history, but also of a particular group of people.

Classroom Connections/ Personal response: This book could be used with other books like non-fiction books on Chinatown, or New York, and also China itself. As a creative arts activity the students can pick an animal that they feel represent them and make a kite out of it. Students could also do character traits on a few of the characters, especially Mr. Chin since he was a real person in society. This book has a lot to offer and I feel could be used in many ways, and also allow children to learn about history while reading it. This is a perfect opportunity for children to express themselves also by making a beautiful art piece like a kite.

[Alexandra Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Henry & the Kite Dragon" is a beautifully illustrated picture book that relates a tale of compromise, diversity, and cultural relativism in 1920's downtown Manhattan. A group of boys from Chinatown enjoy making kites with an older man, Grandfather Chen, that lives in their building. Grandfather Chen paints on the faces of beautiful animals on the gigantic kites that the boys make. When flying the kites, he can make them appear alive, and even frighten the pigeons that often fly near their building. Tony Guglione, a bully from a the neighboring Little Italy, throws stones at the kites from a nearby park. After Tony destroys numerous kites, Grandfather Chen suggests building a dragon; "everyone respects dragons!" he claims. Before they can launch it, Tony and his friends have already begun throwing rocks. Angry, Henry and his friends go down to confront the bullies. As they are antagonizing one another, Grandfather Chen launches the giant dragon kite, causing a distraction. As a pigeon flys by, Grandpa makes the big kite chase the little bird. Tony immediately becomes upset, and yells "Stop it! That's my pigeon!" He begins to cry. All the Chinese boys are shocked. They try to call to Grandpa to stop, but he cannot hear. The boys join forces and run up to the roof where Grandpa is flying the kite. They explain that the pigeon is Tony's; just like the Chinese boys fly kites, the Italian boys own pigeons, and like to watch them fly. Grandpa Chen reels in the kite, and the Chinese boys explain their kite-making techniques. The two groups comprise; the kites will be flown in the morning, and pigeons will fly in the afternoon. The results are larger than just this. Two groups that had previously fought because they misunderstood each other's culture have learned how to live amongst each other with comprise and respect.

[Haley Caudell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henry and the Kite Dragon by Bruce Edward Hall is a story about two differing cultures in Chinatown and Little Italy, and overcoming their differences. This story includes a young Chinese boy named Henry that is fascinated with kites. Henry makes kites with Grandfather Chin, then flies them off the roof of their apartment building. Each time they fly a kite, the Italian kids from Little Italy throw rocks at the kites and after they have fallen, they stomp on them and destroy them. After this happens a few times, Henry gathers his friends and they approach the kids from Little Italy. After much arguing and debate, they realize the kids were destroying their kites because they were chasing the kid’s pet birds, causing them to fly off and come back. After discovering this, they were able to make an agreement of when they would fly their kites, and when the Italian kids would let their birds out.

The illustrations by William Low were very colorful and vibrant. I think they went very well with the text throughout the story. They help the reader visualize what Chinatown, Little Italy, and the different settings looked like. There was a lot of text on each page, but the images featured with the text did a great job of portraying what was being told in the story.

Overall, I think this was a great book to expose students to diversity. I would definitely use this book in my future classroom so my students can see diversity in the main characters in a story as well as introduce some of the different customs and interests of different cultures. Although this assignment was not to find links to the different cultures, I think this book does a great job of subtly introducing different aspects of the Chinese culture, such as their interests in kite flying.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry Chu lives in Chinatown in the 1920s, in New York City. He loves to get dumplings, go to the city's smallest post office and play with his friends. But his favorite thing to do is help Grandfather Chin create and fly beautiful kites. But Tony Guglione and his friends from Little Italy (the next neighborhood over) keep throwing rocks at the kites and then tearing them to pieces. Henry gets angry, so angry, but Grandfather Chin sets about to make an even more impressive dragon kite.

Finally, Henry storms down to the park where Tony and his friends are playing. Listening to the story, we could empathize with Henry and we were sure they were going to start fighting. But when Henry confronts Tony, he learned that Tony was worried the huge kites were chasing away the pigeons he kept as pets. It was a great "ah ha" moment for the class as they realized that Tony wasn't really a bully, but only wanted to protect his pet.

This story is based on real events from Bruce Edward Hall's father's childhood in New York City. As Kirkus Reviews notes in their starred review, this story "subtly teaches that bigotry and hatred is often based in ignorance." William Low's illustrations brings you into the story, and gave a wonderful sense of the majesty and magic of Grandfather Chin's kites. Low varies the perspective, sometime showing the bredth of the New York skyline and soaring kites and other times coming up close as the children and Grandfather Chin work on their creations. Our students really enjoyed how they could see these characters growing and finding a solution to their problems.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kind of deceived me the first read through. Originally, when I was reading this book, and the main character came in contact with the Italian-American group, I thought that this book was going to be simply about racism and discrimination.

However, I was pleasantly surprised with the ending of this story. When we found out that the bullies were merely defending their pigeons, it put a giant twist in the plot! I think that this was very interesting.

It has a good moral to the book, which is that there are two sides to every story, and that violence shouldn't be the first concept that you are brought to. Instead, if we take the time to discuss and talk about our feelings/problems, we tend to get a better reaction from people.

Also, it shows that every action has an equal/opposite reaction.

I would say, however, that I am not certain about the part in the book when the Italian boys feel "kinda bad" about ruining the kites, when they learn that they were not something that they bought.

However, I think that you should feel bad ANY time that you ruin something that isn't yours, regardless if it is store bought, or if it has hand-made sentimental value. This is why I probably didn't give it a 5 star rating.

I did like how at the end, however, the two groups of children come to a compromise, splitting up the days so that they can both enjoy the other without getting in each others way. I also really enjoyed that 'Grandfather' makes the pigeon kite at the end of the story.

This is another book that I would wait for a more mature class, probably 2 grade and on.

[N_sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Henry and the Kite Dragon" takes place in New York City in the 1920's. Henry is an 8 year old boy who is telling about his life in Chinatown. He describes what Chinatown is like at that time and what he does to have fun. His favorite thing to do is join Mr. Chin on the roof of his building to make kites. They use many materials including rice paste and rice paper to make huge beautiful kites. Not only is Mr. Chin an expert kite maker, he is also a skilled kite flier. He can make the kites swirl and dip and even chase pigeons in the sky. The conflict in the story comes when a boy named Tony and his friends in Little Italy destroy the kites two days in a row. On the third day, when Tony and his friends began throwing rocks at the kite, all of Henry's friends head to the park for a confrontation. What could have turned out to be a sad story of rival groups becomes a story of learning to understand each other and share the sky. I'll let you read the story to find out what they learn about each other.
I loved the detailed descriptions and illustrations of Henry's life in Chinatown. The pictures of the colorful kites were wonderful and captured the beauty of that Chinese tradition. This book could be used with children in 1st-5th grade. The illustrations would keep young children looking as a teacher read it aloud. And the book provides a great opportunity to talk about getting to know people before we make judgements.

[Brittany Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Grade level: 5th
-Lexile: 810
-Main character: Henry
-Setting: Chinatown, 1920’s
-POV: 3rd Person
-Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

-Summary: This story is about a young boy who lives in Chinatown who enjoys flying kites with his neighbor, Grandpa Chin. He spends his time flying oriental kites until one day his neighbors from nearby Little Italy start throwing rocks at their kites after one of them starts chasing a flying pigeon. This creates turmoil between the two cultures. The young boy from Chinatown is upset that the beautiful kites are being destroyed, while the boys from Little Italy are upset that these kites are chasing their carrier pigeons. Henry soon confronts the boys and they make a deal that Henry can fly the kites in the morning and the boys can fly their carrier pigeons in the afternoon. Soon, despite their cultural differences, the two groups of children are able to make amends and befriend each other.

I would use this book as part of a lesson for perspective. Through looking at the perspective of both parties in this novel, students can better understand how to put themselves into the viewpoints of different characters. I can have the students imagine that they were in the shoes of each of the different characters to show them how the boys in the story must feel.

[Ruhama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry lives in Chinatown in the 1920s and loves everything about his life, especially Grandfather Chin, the kitemaker. He makes the biggest, most beautiful kites and Henry loves to help make and fly them. But there is trouble—Little Italy is right next to Chinatown, and Tony is always causing trouble, especially for the Chinese. After two kites are destroyed by Tony and his friends throwing rocks, Henry decides it’s time to get even. Grandfather Chin says they must make a really big dragon kite, for everyone respects a dragon. But the truth comes out that the Italians have homing pigeons that have been scared by all the different kites, and that’s the reason why they destroy them. Everyone comes to an agreement and peace is restored. This is a beautiful historical fiction picture book. The acrylics look like photographs, and the colorful kites are a stark contrast to the drab buildings. Then tension is real, the characters are real and the resolution is real. Satisfying
all around. I’ll probably put this in the J section (as opposed to the E section) because older kids will appreciate it more.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't know what to make of this. It's a little longer than what Julia and I normally read together right now, with the exception of the few chapter books we read. I figured it'd be a happy-go-lucky kind of story and instead it has an intense lesson.
I guess what's bugging me is the Chinese/Italian thing. Why not just leave that part out? Even just to say Henry lives in Chinatown and Tony lives in Little Italy. That's enough to give an impression but leave it open for other opinions right? But to add in Tony Guglione (obviously Italian) and put so much emphasis on all of that - it bothered me.
I think a lot of kids will get the impression that all Chinese kids and all Italian kids don't get along. I don't care what anyone says - that isn't true. Why add that to the mix? It would have been a great book about two boys not getting along, talking and then working through the problems.
Yet, like everything else in this world today, it all comes down to race, skin color, and ethinicity.

[Marybeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the 1920's in New York City's Chinatown, Henry Chu enjoys spending afternoons with Grandfather Chin who flies beautiful kites made from scrap material. One day, neighborhood boys from Little Italy start throwing rocks at their beautiful kite. Grandfather Chin says it's OK, they will just build another, but when the new kite is also destroyed, Henry wants revenge. All the kids of Chinatown come together to make a giant dragon kite, but the boys from Little Italy are ready to fight the dragon. When the children meet in the park ready to fight, they learn that the tough ringleader of the boys is only there to protect the homing pigeons that are scared by the kites. In a surprising twist, all the children go to Grandfather Chin and tell him his kite is scaring the birds. The two communi

ties learn to respect each other (the kites are flown in the morning so the birds can return home in the evening.
I would recommend this story for grade 2 and up. It is an excellent lesson in appreciating differences, respect, understanding, and not jumping to conclusions.

[Ashley Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry and the Kite Dragon is about a boy Henry who lives in Chinatown. In the beginning of the story Henry tells about what life is like in Chinatown, New York. He explains that his favorite part is flying kites on the top of the roof with Grandfather Chin. They make very beautiful and intricate kites. Although a boy from Little Italy, a few blocks over continuously throws rocks at the kites which ruins them. Once Tony begins throwing rocks at the gigantic dragon kite, Henry and his friends decide to confront him. They learn that the kites are scaring Tony's homing pigeons and they fly away and never come back. The young boys create a plan in which the children from Chinatown can still fly their kites and the boys from Little Italy can let their pigeons rome, as long as it is at different times of day. This book is a nominee for the Notable Books for a Global Society award. It has a terrific sense of celebrating cultures and diversity. The boys learn that even though they may be different, they can still work things out and work together to continue their traditions.