Fly Free

The smoothly written circular narrative with its reverent message is authenticated by Neilan’s muted watercolors, which are rendered on light tan board and softly depict a Vietnamese countryside peopled by folk wearing conical hats and traditional dress. 

A solid choice for multicultural units, this also demonstrates the value of kindness.

Fly free, fly free, in the sky so blue. When you do a good deed, it will come back to you! sing the Vietnamese characters in Thong's ("Wish") story, as each does something to help the next. Mai wants to release a cageful of birds at the birdseller's-a traditional Buddhist good deed-but she doesn't have the money. She leaves water for the oxcart driver, who gives a stranger a ride, who repays the driver with a cake, and so on, until Mai's birds are freed by another good deed. Neilan ("Imagine a Dragon") applies luminous colors to wood with a heavy horizontal grain, creating cloud-streaked skies, rice fields, and mist-shrouded lakes. The tranquil landscapes give appropriate calm to a story about karma, the idea that good deeds accumulate and affect ones rebirth in the next life. Neilan's characters look best in profile; in head-on views, their features sometimes appear squashed or lopsided. Still, its a useful introduction to Southeast Asia, an explanation of the Buddhist concept of karma (an explanatory note appears in back), and a neat moral tale about paying it forward. Ages 7-9. "(Jan.)" Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 3A Vietnamese girl feeds caged birds outside a Buddhist temple, beginning a cycle of good deeds continued by the townspeople, including a girl who gives away her red-velvet shoes, before circling back to the birds. Although written to illustrate the Buddhist philosophy of karma, the lesson of this simple story, that helping others is helpful to you, is universal. The muted and warm watercolor-on-board illustrations glow with gold, orange, red, and brown tones, although the girls' unnaturally pink cheeks and lips give them a jarringly clownish look. One of the characters is a monk but the only explicit religious message is found in an author's note that explains karma, nirvana, and samsara (the wheel of life). The arresting cover illustration of a child holding her hands in the air as birds fly into the distance foreshadows the story's conclusion. That dramatic image will immediately engage readers in wondering how the birds will be freed. The slight story serves primarily as a framework for the lesson but the approach is gentle and nonjudgmental."Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA" Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

* A perfect jewel. . . . A picture book of rare beauty in both story and artwork. —Library Media Connection, starred review