The plot of this story follows exactly, the story of the picture book “Polly’s Little Kite”.
I have always wanted to deepen the picture book allegory with the thought that it would be awesome (especially for students who have Central coherence difficulties), to have the story introduced and understood at an early age, and then, later in the learning journey, read and discovered again, seeing it from a different angle to further explore and deepen the initial understanding of its concepts.
I
have LOVED writing this story. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Brian
Maunder.
Many years ago, a young boy and his father built a tree house together. It was one of the last things the son did with his dad as his father had to go to war. The young boy didn’t really know what war was and hoped his father would be home soon.
Up in the treehouse, whilst waiting for his dad, the boy can see far out into the horizon, and he notices from looking at his compass, that a church spire in the distance is exactly north from his tree. He decides to call it his “Compass Tree”.
Forty years later, the boy is now a father himself. He usually works a job that takes him away from home for long periods of time which makes him miss his family terribly. Recently though, his wife has become very sick and he has taken time off from work to look after her and their daughter Polly. Toby the dog also needs to be looked after. His wife is now in hospital.
As a way of building a relationship with his daughter, the father spends all day with her, helping her to make a kite. Polly sews and paints the fabric. Dad builds the bamboo cross. They put it all together and write prayers onto special bows, which they attach to the kite’s tail.
Polly names it “Little Kite”
They put Little Kite on the table to allow the paint and glue to dry overnight. Polly goes to sleep.
During the night Little Kite gets angry with Dad because he doesn’t like the way he is made. He wiggles and pushes a ball of string off the table. It lands on the floor, trailing its sting over the sharp corner edge of the table.
In the morning Dad and Polly take Little Kite out to fly. Suddenly the string breaks and Little Kite flies away. At first, as he flies over houses and trees, Little Kite enjoys being all by himself on this new adventure. He really didn’t need to be bound to a string after all. But soon the weather changes and he finds himself facing wild seas and a ferocious storm. His fabric starts ripping and tearing apart in the winds.
Meanwhile, as the storm rages outside, Polly and Dad are in their cosy home wondering how Little Kite is going. Dad drifts off to sleep in front of the fire and has a dream about Little Kite and his own father fighting in a war. The dream rekindles a hope that died years ago. After all this time, he is still waiting for his dad to come home. ”Where are you dad?” he whispers.
Many days and nights pass. Little Kite is missing. Polly and Dad have tried everything to find Little Kite but all their efforts fail. They think he may be lost forever.
On their way to see Mum at the hospital, a rare sunny winter’s day inspire Polly and Dad to go through the “Old Ruins”. Dad grew up in this area as a boy, however it was bombed and destroyed during the war. Whilst there, Polly notices something unusual, like a nest at the top of a tree in the distance. As they approach, Dad realises with amazement that Little Kite has landed in his Compass tree.
Dad climbs the Compass Tree just like he did when he was a boy. He is overwhelmed and thrilled to find his old tree house still there, and discovers a miracle . . . a message, hidden inside a bullet within the tree, a remnant of the war, left to him by his father.
They take Little Kite to the hospital and tell Mum all about their wonderful discovery. Mum marvels at Little Kite and the Compass Tree. She looks at the note, and a few mysterious words on it cause her to wonder if there even more to the Fathers message than they first thought?
The strange words lead them on a wonderful journey as they follow clue after clue, each one revealing an aspect of the fathers love and devotion to his son. Eventually, they discover an object, hidden under a tile in the church, a summary of the entire journey.
Amazed by their discovery, they take Little Kite back home and give him a good clean. Dad notices the prayers on the bows have faded away, as if all the prayers have been safely delivered. Only two words remain, which seemingly answer all their prayers.
They mend Little Kite using the cross and blue material from mums sewing bag. After putting him all together, he looks a bit different but he is like new again. Polly goes to bed.
In the morning, Polly wakes early and checks on Little Kite. She gasps in astonishment. All the blue material they sewed on him yesterday has disappeared, and he looks exactly like the way he was originally made. Was this all a dream?
She goes to ask her dad about it and finds him deep in thought, looking out the window at the church steeple. In his hands are a compass and a bullet shell, and a letter written to him from his father.
x
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