Penny Harris (text) and Winnie Zhou (illustrator), Flight of the Kite (Ginnie and Pinney), Big Sky Publishing, June 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781922265760
Ginnie and Pinney are best of friends, but don’t always agree on everything. Ginnie always thinks about everyone else while Pinney often acts before he thinks.
It is a windy day and Pinney is excited to make kites, but Ginnie is not so sure.
Will the two friends find a way to work together and make a kite that flies?
In Flight of the Kite, central themes of patience, persistence, friendships and working together are explored and provide ample opportunity for teachers and educators to discuss social and emotional themes.
Readers are introduced to Ginnie, Pinney and all their animal friends at the beginning of the book creating instant recognition to known readers, and easy familiarisation with the playful characters for new readers.
Working with experts in education, linguistics and psychology author Penny Harris and illustrator Winnie Zhou bring their craft and creativity to a series of 8 books that are well targeted to the 0-5 age group.
Ginnie & Pinney is an award-winning book series that has recently been optioned for development as a TV series. The Learn & Grow book series is based on learning outcomes from Australian government frameworks and has been developed to support school curriculums and early learning frameworks. It is available in English and Chinese, and when purchased as a complete book set comes with a wealth of teaching resources for classrooms. The individual books include a full animated video via QR code scan.
Flight of the Kite is a clever and original addition to a series that stimulates meaningful conversations with young children on day-to-day issues to help foster emotional intelligence, positive social behaviours and wellbeing.
Reviewed by Shelley Stephens
