King for a Day
A Picture Book By Rukhsana Khan
Illustrated by Christiane Kromer
In Pakistan a boy in a wheelchair has one day every year that he rules: the day of Basunt, the spring kite festival.
Published by Lee & Low, Spring 2014
32 pg, Hardcover
ISBN 9781600606595
AR Quiz No. 163050 EN Fiction
IL: LG – BL: 3.9 – AR Pts: 0.5
AR Quiz Types: RP
Rating: 3 1/2 STARS
Resources
Rukhsana’s Book Talk/Tutorial for how best to use this book in the classroom
Awards & Recognition
South Asia Book Award 2015--Highly Commended Title
TD Top 20--Top 20 books in Canada for Summer Reading Club
Cooperative Children's Book Centre Best Picture Books of 2014
Nominated Connecticut Nutmeg Award 2016
Huffington Post Best Picture Books of 2014 - Honorable Mention (most touching/heart warming category)
Best Multicultural Books of 2014 -- Center for the Study Multicultural Children's Literature
Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books of the Year 2014
Kirkus Best Books of the Year 2014
Bank Street College Best Books of the Year for Children and Young Adults "outstanding merit" book 2014
Selected as a Junior Library Guild Choice 2013
Nominated for Maine Chickadee Award 2011-2012
Semi-finalist Irma Simonton Black Award 2014
Reviews
“Set in Pakistan during Basant, “the most exciting day of the year,” this story focuses on the strength and resourcefulness of a child in a wheelchair as he navigates the skies at the spring kite festival…This story soars."
Kirkus Starred Review
“Spring has arrived in Lahore, Pakistan, and the celebration of Basant ushers it in with an annual kite-flying contest. Young Malik plans to win the self-proclaimed title of “king of Basant” by capturing and/or setting free more kites than anyone else…”
School Library Journal Starred Review
"Using a fantastic medley of mixed-media collage that incorporates traditional Pakistani fabric, handmade paper, burlap, silk, and ribbon, Krömer skillfully captures the textures and colors of basant, the spring kite-flying festival in Lahore…a universal tale of one boy’s good-natured, competitive spirit and desire to shine, if only for a day.”
Booklist
“Exquisite” is the word the official Kirkus review uses to describe the mixed-media collages of Christiane Krömer…A triumphant tale of the king of the skies..."
Julie Danielson's Blog: Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
