by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 05, 2010

It's an endearing story, about an old monastery with just three brothers left to care for it.

Skinny Brother Andre works in the garden taking care of the vegetables - but he always stops to watch the gulls fly by. And portly Brother Blaise handles the kitchen, where he bakes breads and stews (and ends up with leftovers for the cats).It's brother Carlos who's the creative one, who alone in a tower mends robes and sandals, and carves small wooden figures.

The three brothers took a vow of silence - but they miss the villagers and the other monks and the laughter of children. And one day two children fly their kite on the monastery's hill - where it crashes into a tree. In its first surprise, the book introduces a new cheerful note. "That night the three monks lay on their cots and thought about kites. They saw them dancing far above their heads…"

In a happy coincidence, all three monks arrive at the tree at the same moment. Under a full moon, one crouches so the other can stand on top of him, and the third climbs up to retrieve the kite. Soon it's caught the wind, and then it's rising up towards the full moon in the night. "And the monks, taking turns, were once more the small boys they used to be."

It's a gentle, peaceful story, enhanced by some beautiful watercolor illustrations from Elise Primavera. On the first page, the blues and greens of earth hold two odd towers from the old monastery - touched by wisps of cloud - under a richly mottled sky. Each tower holds a tiny monk, and the third monk appears in the flowers below. He's feeding food to a tiny cat - and each illustration finds a way to suggest both the monks' personality - and their loneliness.

The hill of their monastery becomes a remembered boyhood scene, described sweetly by author Helen E. Buckley. "For Brother Andre, the grass on the hill became a sandy shore, and he was running by the sea with only the gulls to keep him company. For Brother Blaise, the hill became a flat rooftop, and he was flying the orange kite far above a crowded city street." They leave the kite in a lower tree for the two children to retrieve. And then the children finish the next day, they again leave their kite behind.

"Maybe monks like to fly kites too!"
 
The book winds its way to a very happy ending. The next time the children visit, they discover two new kites waiting for them… And soon more children start visiting the monastery.

And the sky is filled with colorful kites!

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.