The Kite Maker's Grandson
An illustrated story by Moonbridge · Kids · Watercolour · All ages · English, Turkish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean
Also in: Türkçe · Deutsch · Español · Português · Français · Bahasa Indonesia
A game-obsessed boy spends spring with his kite-maker grandmother, and when a storm tears their giant dragon kite, the whole lane helps him rebuild it.
Eleven-year-old Jun arrives in Weifang with a handheld game and no interest in kites. His grandmother, Nainai Lin, has made kites in the same courtyard for fifty years, and this spring she wants to fly a giant dragon kite at the festival again. Slowly, Jun learns to bend bamboo, paint silk and be patient. Two nights before the festival, a storm tears the dragon apart. Instead of giving up, Jun runs from door to door. Uncle Zhao from the noodle shop, Ling from next door and everyone in the lane fill the courtyard to rebuild it, each painting a disc of their own. On festival morning, a patchwork dragon rises over the city.
Characters
- Jun (The grandson): An eleven-year-old city boy from Shanghai who would rather play video games than anything else, spending spring with his grandmother.
- Nainai Lin (Master kite maker): Jun's grandmother, a seventy-one-year-old master kite maker who has built kites in the same courtyard for fifty years.
- Uncle Zhao (Noodle shop owner): The loud, big-hearted neighbour who runs the little noodle shop at the end of the lane.
- Ling (The girl next door): A twelve-year-old neighbour who flies kites every day and thinks Jun is a spoiled city kid, at first.
Episode 1: Bamboo and Silk
Jun arrives bored and glued to his game, but his grandmother slowly teaches him to make kites, and together they build a giant dragon.
Weifang, the city of kites. Jun did not care about kites.
Nainai Lin: Welcome, Jun. Say hello to the kites.
Jun: Hi, Grandma. Is there internet here?
Beep...
Jun: No! My charger is still in Shanghai!
Nainai Lin: Your grandpa and I flew a dragon every spring.
Jun: That kite is longer than a bus!
Ling: Bet you can't even tie a kite knot, city boy.
Jun: I can so! ...Probably.
Nainai Lin: Slowly. Bamboo listens if you are patient.
Snap!
Jun: This is harder than any game!
Nainai Lin: Then it is a better game. Again.
Day by day, the dragon grew.
Uncle Zhao: That dragon will rule the whole sky!
Jun: It's flying! I made it, and it flies!
Ling: Not bad, city boy!
Jun: Grandma, can I hold the line at the festival?
Nainai Lin: We will hold it together.
Episode 2: The Storm
Two nights before the festival, a spring storm tears the dragon apart, and Jun decides not to give up.
Jun: In two days, the whole city will see it.
Ling: Fine. It is amazing. Happy now?
Uncle Zhao: A storm is coming! Bring everything inside!
Whoosh!
Nainai Lin: Quickly, Jun! The long pieces first!
Crash!
Jun: No! The dragon!
Nainai Lin: Jun! Leave it! Come inside, now!
Jun: It's my fault. I wanted to show it off.
Nainai Lin: Kites can be mended. You are what matters.
By morning, half the dragon was gone.
Jun: Grandma! The head is still in one piece!
Nainai Lin: But forty discs are torn. The festival is in two days.
Jun: Then we rebuild it. We still have two days!
Jun: We need more hands. I'll ask everyone!
He left his game on the step. He did not look back.
Episode 3: A Dragon for Everyone
The whole lane fills the courtyard to rebuild the dragon, each neighbour painting a disc, and on festival morning a patchwork dragon rises over the city.
Jun: Uncle Zhao, can you help us fix the dragon?
Uncle Zhao: Help? I'm closing the shop! Let's go!
Ling: I brought brushes. And my whole family.
Jun: She came. They're all coming.
By noon, the whole lane was in Grandma's courtyard.
Nainai Lin: Fifty years, and I have never had so many helpers.
Jun: Slowly. Bamboo listens if you are patient.
Nainai Lin: My words, in his voice.
Uncle Zhao: Mine has a bowl of noodles. For luck!
Ling: Dragons don't eat noodles!
Uncle Zhao: This one does!
Nainai Lin: The old dragon was mine. This one belongs to everyone.
Jun: Then everyone has to come and fly it!
Festival morning. The sky over Weifang was already full.
Nainai Lin: Feel the wind, Jun... Now!
Whoosh!
Jun: It's flying! Uncle Zhao, your noodles are flying!
Jun: Grandma, next spring can we build a phoenix?
Nainai Lin: Next spring, you will teach me.
Some things fly higher after they are mended.