Reviews

The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park

kmdahlgran's review against another edition

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3.0

We liked this story and its look into traditional Korean kite fighting. The story was well written and held our interest. I appreciate that Sonlight uses many books that my children and I would not choose on our own.

vaderbird's review against another edition

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2.0

My daughter calls it the boringist book in the world.

I had to explain to her that is not a valid word.

dandelionfluff's review

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4.0

I'd love to introduce this to a classroom setting. The chapters are short and divided into sections, with a lot of information for students to sort through. When I was in elementary school, Korean traditions weren't something we studied frequently, if ever. Overall, a good, short read for students learning about different cultures or for anyone curious about early Korean traditions. (having said I'm not familiar with Korean history, I can only hope that this book is accurate until I learn more)

s_books's review

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3.0

This is a nice story about two brothers in ancient Korea and how they feel somewhat stifled by their birth positions even though they would rather do other things. Two things kind of bugged me though: One, I wish Park had used the word "hyung" and explained what it meant rather than saying brother/older brother all the time and two, the use of the ground pottery on the kite line feels like cheating -- even though that's a regularly used tactic in kite fights now, in the story it's unknown and there's no real way to fight against it so it feels like cheating.

t2p's review

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4.0

This story was a pleasant surprise. I didn't know what to expect, but my kids and I were drawn into the story of the brothers and the kite fighting competition. The descriptions were excellent, and my 6-year-old was captivated and wanted to know what happened next. It sparked plenty of interesting discussion.

mysticmango's review

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lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

jartone93's review

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adventurous informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.0

evamadera1's review

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I absolutely adored this book.
Park created a solid historical narrative with engaging young characters dealing with an age-appropriate problem without "dumbing down" the narrative. She kept many aspects of it such as word choice and syntax simpler but she never wrote pedantically. 
I fully empathized with the main character, his brother, and with the King. I also learned more about Korean culture and history, a fairly underrepresented topic.
I highly recommend this book.

sydneyraereads's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

mommamouro's review

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inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0