The kite rider
(Book)

Gr. 6^-9. Twelve-year-old Haoyou watches in horror as his father dies as a result of being sent aloft tied to the mast as a "wind tester" to predict the success of a ship's voyage. When Di Chou, the ship's brutal first mate, who ordered the wind test, plans to marry Haoyou's newly widowed mother, the boy, with the help of Mipeng, a distant cousin, takes action. To prevent the wedding, he signs a very drunk Di Chou aboard a different ship and volunteers himself as the new wind tester so the ship can leave before the first mate comes to his senses. Haoyou's exploit leads to his becoming a kite rider for a traveling circus. Mipeng, who is considered to be a medium, helps Haoyou by serving as his link to the sky spirits. The story is a genuine page-turner, with the tension increasing after the circus performs for the capricious Kublai Khan and when Di Chou comes back into the picture. McCaughrean fully immerses her memorable characters in the culture and lore of the ancient Chinese and Mongols, which make this not only a solid adventure story but also a window to a fascinating time and place rarely used as a background in children's fiction. --Sally Estes

With her exuberant, nonstop plotting and supremely colorful setting, McCaughrean (The Stones Are Hatching) grabs hold of readers' imaginations and doesn't let go. In 13th-century China, a 12-year-old boy prepares to say goodbye to his father, who is about to put to sea as a crew member of the Chabi, and to watch the testing of the wind, which involves strapping a man to a huge kite and seeing if it flies straight up (a good omen for the Chabi's voyage) or at a certain angle (foretelling danger). But almost before Haoyou knows what is happening, the first mate makes his father the wind-tester, and Haoyou looks on in horror as his father becomes a speck in the distant sky, then returns, lifeless, to earth. All this McCaughrean accomplishes in less than 10 pages, establishing a breakneck pace, which she maintains with seeming ease. The story takes Haoyou from his determined efforts to prevent the evil first mate from marrying his beautiful mother to his joining a traveling circus as a kite rider, mastering his father's tragedy as he himself flies skyward into what the circus-goers take to be the spirit world. Eventually the circus reaches the court of the Kublai Khan, evoked here in splendor and awe. While Haoyou never becomes as compelling a character as those around him a spirit medium cousin, the circus master, Kublai Khan McCaughrean offers more than enough adventure, plot twists and exotic scenery to keep the audience fully engrossed. Ages 12-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 5-9-Haoyou is a 12 year old in 13th century China, just conquered by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan. He goes to see his beloved father off on another shipping journey when wicked first mate Di Chou puts in motion a terrible plot. The superstitious Chinese always send aloft a person tied to a large kite to test the wind and the omens to ascertain whether the journey will be profitable. Haoyou's father, Pei, is sent on this mission, and fear makes his heart stop. Haoyou knows Di Chou intentionally arranged this in order to marry Pei's beautiful widow. Adding to the family's problems is the pompous and greedy Uncle Bo, who will do anything for some gold. Haoyou volunteers, somewhat to his horror, to be the kite rider for a ship on which he and his cousin Mipeng have stashed a drunken Di Chou the day before the wedding. The description of Haoyou's combination of complete fear and exhilaration is stirring. The mysterious Miao Je invites Haoyou to join his traveling circus as a kite rider where he becomes a star attraction, always seeking his father's spirit during these dangerous, gut-churning flights. Eventually they meet up with Kublai Khan and Maio Je's secrets are revealed. Details about superstition, codes of behavior and obedience, politics, racism, and daily life in China at this time are superbly conveyed in a beautifully written tale. The full cast recording of the novel by Geraldine McCaughrean (HarperCollins, 2002) is not quite convincing, although narrator Cynthia Bishop is excellent. None of Miao Je's charisma is audible nor is Uncle Bo's character portrayed in a seriously sinister way. However, the story is so wonderful that the recording will surely grip listeners.-B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(Middle School, High School) Marco Polo, who spent seventeen years with Kublai Khan, described a ""quaint naval practice"" of the thirteenth-century Chinese: using kites to test the wind. Into this practice McCaughrean splices a later Japanese invention: man-carrying reconnaissance kites. Haoyou, twelve, is already an accomplished kite maker when, in a heroic maneuver that forestalls his mother's forced second marriage, he takes to the air. This first flight is as terrifying as it is exhilarating; the boy's survival depends as much on extraordinary luck as on the equally extraordinary skills he soon develops. Escaping his vicious great-uncle Bo, titular head of his family, Haoyou joins a circus, whose performers include both Sung Chinese and their despised Mongol conquerors. As the circus moves north, Haoyou's death-defying flights enable ever-more-novel feats. The credulous believe he brings back messages from the dead. From his bird's-eye view, he spots a lost Mongol baby and dives to her rescue, which does much to quell animosity between Mongol and Sung. When Uncle Bo turns up at Kublai Khan's court and places a disastrous bet on his great-nephew, precipitating a whole series of hair's-breadth escapes, Haoyou begins to question the obedience ingrained by his upbringing, a virtue that has repeatedly betrayed him. The grand array of colorful characters includes the owner of the circus, the gentle, mysterious Miao; cousin Mipeng, a resourceful young woman who joins the circus as Haoyou's ""medium""; and, especially, Haoyou himself, who finally realizes his own talents and seizes his independence. There's no livelier or more fluent storyteller than McCaughrean. This thirteenth-century Cathay may be partly her own invention, but the relationships among the characters ring true for any era, while the skillful plotting, hair-raising suspense, and vivid details all help bring this adventure to splendid life. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

An ancient--and terrifying--maritime practice becomes the impetus for a cracking good adventure story set in 13th-century China, after the Mongol conquest. Haoyou's sailor father dies when sent up on a hatch cover, kite-style, to "test the wind," and he, his beautiful mother, and his baby sister are left in the care of his rapacious and dishonest Great-uncle Bo. With the help of his world-weary cousin Mipeng, a young widow who has been forced into the role of medium, Haoyou manages to avoid the worst of his great-uncle's schemes for himself and his mother, but real escape comes only when he comes to the attention of the charismatic owner of a circus. The Great Miao has heard of the practice of testing the wind, has seen Haoyou himself lofted into the air, and has determined that a kite-rider will be the central act of a show he intends to play before the conqueror Kublai Khan himself. McCaughrean (Roman Myths, 2001, etc.) takes her characters on a dizzying adventure across China even as she takes Haoyou on an inner journey to confront his deeply-held beliefs and prejudices. Haoyou and, to a lesser extent, Mipeng and the Great Miao all struggle with the accepted Confucian teaching that obedience to one's elders must be observed at all costs. While the protagonists' decisions regarding obedience and individualism may not have been the norm at the time, they are not out of place for this moment of great cultural upheaval, and their development is sensitively and at times wryly charted. Haoyou's aerial ecstasy springs vividly off the page for some truly thrilling moments as he soars on his kite while Great-uncle Bo provides a low-humor counterpoint. An author's note follows to contextualize the 13th-century and to explain the inspiration for Haoyou's unusual vocation. Fast-paced and densely plotted, absorbing, and at times even hilarious. (Fiction. 11-15) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

/*Starred Review*/ Gr. 6-9. Twelve-year-old Haoyou watches in horror as his father dies as a result of being sent aloft tied to the mast as a "wind tester" to predict the success of a ship's voyage. When Di Chou, the ship's brutal first mate, who ordered the wind test, plans to marry Haoyou's newly widowed mother, the boy, with the help of Mipeng, a distant cousin, takes action. To prevent the wedding, he signs a very drunk Di Chou aboard a different ship and volunteers himself as the new wind tester so the ship can leave before the first mate comes to his senses. Haoyou's exploit leads to his becoming a kite rider for a traveling circus. Mipeng, who is considered to be a medium, helps Haoyou by serving as his link to the sky spirits. The story is a genuine page-turner, with the tension increasing after the circus performs for the capricious Kublai Khan and when Di Chou comes back into the picture. McCaughrean fully immerses her memorable characters in the culture and lore of the ancient Chinese and Mongols, which make this not only a solid adventure story but also a window to a fascinating time and place rarely used as a background in children's fiction. ((Reviewed May 15, 2002)) Copyright 2002 Booklist Reviews

With her exuberant, nonstop plotting and supremely colorful setting, McCaughrean (The Stones Are Hatching) grabs hold of readers' imaginations and doesn't let go. In 13th-century China, a 12-year-old boy prepares to say goodbye to his father, who is about to put to sea as a crew member of the Chabi, and to watch the testing of the wind, which involves strapping a man to a huge kite and seeing if it flies straight up (a good omen for the Chabi's voyage) or at a certain angle (foretelling danger). But almost before Haoyou knows what is happening, the first mate makes his father the wind-tester, and Haoyou looks on in horror as his father becomes a speck in the distant sky, then returns, lifeless, to earth. All this McCaughrean accomplishes in less than 10 pages, establishing a breakneck pace, which she maintains with seeming ease. The story takes Haoyou from his determined efforts to prevent the evil first mate from marrying his beautiful mother to his joining a traveling circus as a kite rider, mastering his father's tragedy as he himself flies skyward into what the circus-goers take to be the spirit world. Eventually the circus reaches the court of the Kublai Khan, evoked here in splendor and awe. While Haoyou never becomes as compelling a character as those around him a spirit medium cousin, the circus master, Kublai Khan McCaughrean offers more than enough adventure, plot twists and exotic scenery to keep the audience fully engrossed. Ages 12-up. (June) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Set in 13th-century China, this novel begins with a 12-year-old boy who witnesses his father's death, then follows him on a journey that takes him to Kublai Khan's court. "With her exuberant, nonstop plotting and supremely colorful setting, the author grabs hold of readers' imaginations and doesn't let go," PW said. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Gr 5-9-In 1281, the Chinese lived under a foreign emperor, Kublai Khan, whose nomadic Mongol warriors had just toppled the glorious Sung Dynasty. The pageant of changing dynasties is an epic backdrop for the story of 12-year-old Haoyou. After watching his father die, the boy must fend for himself and protect his widowed mother from their greedy, overbearing uncle and a suitor responsible for his father's death. With his cousin Mipeng, Haoyou joins a traveling circus headed by the mysterious, charismatic Miao Jie. The cousins create a popular and profitable act as Haoyou, strapped to the crossbars of a kite, rides the winds high in the sky, where, gullible villagers believe, he can speak to spirits. Written in a rich vocabulary saturated with metaphor, McCaughrean's account of Haoyou's journey from innocence to experience is driven by a plot that sweeps readers along like the famous kamikaze wind that nearly kills the boy and destroys a fleet sent by Kublai Khan to invade Japan. Readers ride the winds with Haoyou, thanks to the author's vivid, realistic re-creation of his thrilling but terrifying flights. Her deliberate, shifting focus straddles insider and outsider, Mongol and Chinese, earth and sky, and life and death. Ultimately, the characters transcend all boundaries as their common humanity touches readers' hearts.-Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.