SuitabookWindblowne
Stephen Messer
- Reading
- Read alongside the child, pausing after the attack kites and the town’s disappearance to discuss predictions. Revisit the opening failures afterwards and consider how later events might recast them.
- Themes
- Failure, ridicule and aspiration: Oliver’s kite failures make him a laughingstock, while he hopes to become one of Windblowne’s legendary fliers. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Identity and reality: After the crimson kite lifts Oliver above the trees, he returns to find the town and its people gone; the mystery is said to change what he understands about himself and his world. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- A useful conversation could explore how Oliver responds when an activity that matters to him goes badly, and whether his hopes change once the festival becomes less important than the unfolding mystery.