A picture book that combines a story with information. In long-ago China, a woman commissioned an artist to paint a special dragon kite for her son. It was her hope that this creature representing wealth, wisdom, power and nobility would be seen by the gods in heaven and assist the boy in growing up to be big and strong. Word of the artists talent traveled, and he was soon asked to create a wide variety of flyers for other villagers. The small, intricate, colorful kites illustrated in Demis signature style and set against blues and greens are lovely to look at and will encourage readers to appreciate their beauty. Captions offer brief explanations of the different emblematic figures, creatures, and symbols, e.g., a crane denotes nobility and honesty and a cricket brings music and song. There is also mention of a Chinese festival devoted to kites, as well as detailed instructions for making a kite. The factual information, although clear, is sparse, making this title better suited to picture-book collections than the nonfiction shelves.DeAnn Tabuchi, San Anselmo Public Library, CA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.