My Mom Is Like a Kite

A child touchingly narrates the ups and downs of living with a parent who experiences mental illness.

Sometimes Mom soars like a kite. Other times the kite turns into a sail, and she's like a boat, bobbing along the waves, until water spills over the sides and she starts to sink. "I try to bail the water out," the child says, "but my bucket is too small or has a hole in it."

On a better day, Mom introduces the child to a "new friend" named Grace, a therapist. Grace explains that it's not the child's job to fix things. And Grace helps the child find coping strategies -- talking, playing games and, especially, drawing as a creative outlet.

Gradually, the child begins to feel better when they're at home with Mom, where there are plenty of crayons and the comfort of a beloved pet to cuddle.

But the child has one big question. At the end of the story, they ask if they will sink or soar when they grow up. And while no one knows for sure, the child believes Grace who suggests that they now have the tools to weather whatever storms might come.

Reviewed by a children's psychiatrist for authenticity. Includes an author's note and a list of resources and helplines for mental health.

Key Text Features

authors note

dialogue

illustrations

resources

vignettes

Correlates to the Common Core States Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2

Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

NATHALIE DION is the acclaimed illustrator of The Big Bad Wolf in My House by Valérie Fontaine (Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books, USBBY Outstanding International Books); I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree by Jean E. Pendziwol (Globe 100 Books, OLA Best Bets); and Kumo: the Bashful Cloud by Kyo Maclear (Golden Kite Award, Mrazik-Cleaver Honour); among others. She is the author and illustrator of My Mad Hair Day, which has been translated into French and German. Nathalie lives in Montreal, Quebec.

LISL H. DETLEFSEN is the author of many notable picture books, including Time for Cranberries, illustrated by Jed Henry (Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People); At the End of the Day, illustrated by Lynnor Bontigao (Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices); Still There Was Bread, illustrated by David Soman; and Each Day Is a Gift, illustrated by Natalia Vasilica. Lisl lives in a restored farmhouse on a family-owned cranberry marsh near Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.