{"title":"Chasing A Spider Publishing","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"a-kite-for-melia","title":"A Kite for Melia","description":"\u003cp\u003eA girl's desire to fly a kite dovetails with her grief over losing a pet in this beautifully illustrated picture book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Melia, a girl with light-brown skin and curly hair, asks older children if she can fly one of their kites, they tell her to make her own. She doesn't know how, so she goes to the library to find out. There, she discovers a book about kites and uses it to make a beautiful triangular creation with a bow and long tail. At first, it won't fly, and the older children jeer. But Melia keeps trying, and she's successful and happy—because on it, she taped a letter for her deceased dog, Ginger. She hopes that Ginger will find a way to leave her a note in the stars. Married authors Samuel and Freda Narh reveal the story a bit at a time, interrupting the linear kite-making narrative with Melia's recollections of Ginger and an expression of the joy she feels when she sees the library. Their language is poetic (\"this aged booklet smells like success\") and balances the sometimes-challenging turns of phrase with shorter text and Suria's large pastel illustrations, which capture the tone perfectly and use details from the apparently East African setting to enhance Melia's world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA well-told, offbeat story that blends themes of perseverance and healing. 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Mama, it turns out, left Bolivia for Ethiopia at the beginning of the rainy season for a yearlong trip. (The reasons for her journey and its duration are not explained.) Milko has marked off 365 days since she left. Why hasn't she returned? Not to worry. Mama and her \"laughter as deep as the forest\" bring the Narhs' story to a sweet, soulful conclusion—although one that may require parents to explain the meaning of a leap year. (Two books among many that offer children more prosaic ways to cope with absent parents are \u003ci\u003eThe Invisible String\u003c\/i\u003e by Patrice Karst, 2000; and \u003ci\u003eLily Hates Goodbyes\u003c\/i\u003e by Jerilyn Marler, 2012.) Artist Knatko's beautiful watercolor illustrations complement the text with evocative imagery and lush swaths of colors and patterns. 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