BOOK PICKS.

Byline: The Register-Guard

"The Kite Rider"

By Geraldine McCaughrean

Oxford University Press

Age 12 and up

Set in 13th-century Cathay (China), "The Kite Rider" is a well-written historical adventure story that offers insights into the period.

In the first chapter, we learn that kite riding was a ritual carried out to test the wind before ships went to sea.

The story begins when 12-year-old Haoyou and his father are in the wrong place at the wrong time. A ship's captain has ordered his sailors to use Haoyou's father as the wind tester. Haoyou witnesses his father's death. The captain, Di Chou, then demands that Haoyou's widowed mother marry him.

Mipeng, a courageous and quietly forthright medium, assists Haoyou with a dangerous scheme to temporarily get rid of Di Chou, getting him drunk and then transporting him to a ship departing for a lengthy stint at sea.

While Di Chou is gone, Haoyou, who has become an expert kite maker, volunteers to be a kite rider. His experience as a kite maker helps him understand how to use his body to make the best use of the wind. Haoyou's kite riding stunts are observed by Miao, the master of the Jade Circus. Miao offers him a position and Haoyou leaves his home and family to travel with the circus.

"Soaring" is the best word to describe this story. It is filled with gripping, near-death experiences for young Haoyou. He becomes rich and famous, even performing for the great Kubla Khan. But greedy Uncle Bo plans to steal the money that Haoyou has earned for his mother. And Di Chou will be returning from the long voyage, ready for revenge.

The story is a glimpse into another world that is rarely used as a setting for children's literature.

British author McCaughrean has published eight novels with Oxford University Press, seven of which have won major children's book awards.

- Nicki Maxwell, retired

Eugene School District librarian