Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Francisco’s Kites / Las cometas de Francisco



by Alicia Z. Klepeis
Illustrated by Gary Undercuffler
Spanish-language translation by Gabriela Baeza Ventura


ISBN:978-1-55885-804-6

Publication Date: May 31, 2015

Bind: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Ages: 4-8

Francisco looks out his bedroom window and thinks about his home back in El Salvador. He misses his friends and playing in the village’s park. He wants to fly a kite near his new home in the U.S., but his mother can’t afford one.

“If Mamá can’t buy me a kite, maybe I can make one,” he thinks. Picking up a bag, Francisco leaves the apartment in search of treasures that he can use for his project. He finds purple cellophane, a pile of string and a broken model airplane. In his apartment building’s recycling area, Francisco discovers other useful items that people have thrown away. He can’t wait to spread out all the goodies and start building his very own cometa!

Soon Francisco is testing his creation in Sunnydale Park. He makes it fly up and down, spin in the air, even make loops! The colorful toy catches the attention of a man who runs a recycled goods store. He wants to sell Francisco’s kites in his shop! But can Francisco really find enough material to make them? And will he be able to deliver them in time?

In this charming bilingual picture book for children ages 4 to 8, a young boy uses his ingenuity to build unique kites that will have young readers dreaming of building their own fabulous fliers!



ALICIA Z. KLEPEIS is a freelance writer who began her career at the National Geographic Society. A former geography teacher, Alicia is the author of Africa (ABDO Publishing, 2013), Understanding Turkey Today (Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2014) and The World’s Strangest Foods (Raintree, 2015). She lives with her family in upstate New York.

GARY UNDERCUFFLER has illustrated a wide variety of children’s books, textbooks and magazines. His children’s books include “Happy Birthday”: The Story of the World’s Most Popular Song (Pelican Publishing, 2010). He lives in Pennsylvania with his family.