"The Kite Fighters"

This story is about two boys who are treated differently from their father and takes place in Seoul, Korea. Young-Sup is supposed to treat Kee-Sup with respect, since he is the elder.  They can both fly kites, but Young-Sup is the one who can fly a kite with a lot of skill and Kee-Sup can design and make kites.  Young-Sup is asked to be the kite-fighter at the New Year Festival.  After Kee-Sup asks his father if Young-Sup can fly the kite, they get an idea to put pieces of glass on the string in order to cut the string of the other kite fighters easily.  It is allowed, but by the time Young-Sup is up to his last competitor, last year's champion, the glass from his strong is all gone.  He is very nervous, but wins the competition.  In this book, Young-Sup and Kee-Sup become good friends and the King does not treat him like one of his subjects.  I would teach the students about characterization, setting, and plot with this book.