The Winter Kite
Audience: 4-8 years
599 Words
Mentor Texts:
The Snowy Day
by Ezra Jack Keats
The Kissing Hand
by Audry Penn
Brave Irene
by William Steig
One winter morning, four-year-old Rosemary wakes up before the sun. The wind is howling outside, and she's scared.
Her daddy reassures her, saying there’s no need to fear the wind—it’s just the air singing a song, and is good for all sorts of things, like turning wind turbines.
But when he drops her off at her babysitter Ann’s house, the wind pushes against their bodies, and Rosemary is still scared. Luckily, Ann knows just what to do. Out comes the craft box, and soon they’ve built a neat little kite. Fear is replaced by anticipation—will it fly?
How do we address the anxiety of children who have experienced trauma? Not with saccharine reassurances or promises of magical rescue, but with tools that help them stay grounded in the present.
Rosemary is a child whose mother has passed away. This detail is never made explicit, but it’s there for families who might recognize themselves in her story.
I’ve often heard you should write the book you needed as a child, and this is that book for me—the story of a motherless child, where the loss is present but not central, and the lingering effects are gently acknowledged.