Resource Filters Description More information about this book
More information about this book

Book Description

Resource Type

  • Pre-Reading Activities
  • During Reading Activities
  • Post-Reading Activities

Skills and Subjects

  • Critical Thinking in Literacy
  • Integrated Learning
  • Oral Language
  • Comprehension Strategies
  • Visual Elements
  • Vocabulary Acquisition
  • Social & Emotional Learning
  • Developing & Creating Texts
  • Key Ideas & Details
  • Just for Fun!
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My Mom Is Like a Kite

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

    Book Genre:

  • Picture Books

    Audience:

  • ages 3 to 6 / grades P to 1

Written by

  • Lisl H. Detlefsen

Illustrated by

  • Nathalie Dion

  • Book Description

    This picture book uses extended metaphor to explore what it is like for a young child to live with a parent who experiences mental illness. The mother is described as sometimes soaring like a kite and other times sinking like a boat, while the child learns—through the help of a trusted therapist—that it is not their responsibility to fix the adult’s emotions. The story emphasizes emotional awareness, healthy boundaries, coping strategies, and hope.

  • Pre-Reading Activities/ Critical Thinking in Literacy, Integrated Learning, Oral Language
    What Is a Metaphor?
    Introduce the idea of metaphors using familiar examples (e.g., ‘busy as a bee’). Show a picture of a kite and a boat. Ask students what those objects usually do and how they move. Explain that authors sometimes use objects to describe feelings.
  • Pre-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies, Oral Language, Visual Elements
    Picture Walk Predictions
    Do a slow picture walk through the book without reading the text. Ask students to describe what they notice about the colors, facial expressions, and settings. Have them predict what the story might be about and how the child feels.
  • Pre-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning, Oral Language, Vocabulary Acquisition
    Feelings Chart Connection
    Display a feelings chart. Ask students to point to or name feelings they see represented in the illustrations. Discuss how feelings can change from day to day.
  • Pre-Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning, Oral Language, Social & Emotional Learning
    Background Knowledge Helpers
    Ask students who helps them when they feel worried or sad. Introduce the idea of counselors or therapists as helpers who listen and help people understand their feelings.
  • Pre-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts, Integrated Learning, Key Ideas & Details
    Personal Connection Journaling
    Have students draw or dictate about a time when an adult they care about had a hard day. Emphasize that children are not responsible for fixing adult problems.
  • During Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies, Key Ideas & Details
    Tracking the Metaphors
    As you read, pause to identify when the mom is compared to a kite or a boat. Ask students what each metaphor might mean about how she is feeling.
  • During Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies, Key Ideas & Details, Oral Language, Visual Elements
    Stop and Feel
    Pause at key moments and ask students to name how the child might be feeling. Encourage students to support their answers using both text and illustrations.
  • During Reading Activities/ Critical Thinking in Literacy, Visual Elements, Vocabulary Acquisition
    Visual Details Detective
    Ask students to look closely at colors and shapes. Discuss how lighter colors and open space feel different from darker or crowded images.  Next, ask them to look at the illustrations and colors and lines in the text. Do they convey mood? Discuss how words convey mood.

  • During Reading Activities/ Integrated Learning, Key Ideas & Details
    Boundary Talk
    When Grace explains that fixing things is not the child’s job, pause and discuss what responsibilities children do and do not have in families.

  • During Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies, Oral Language
    Think-Aloud Modeling
    Model your own thinking as you read by saying things like, “This makes me think…” or “I wonder why…” to demonstrate comprehension strategies.

  • Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts, Oral Language
    My Feelings Metaphor
    Students choose an object that represents how they feel sometimes and explain or dictate why.
  • Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts, Oral Language
    Art as Coping
    Provide crayons and paper and allow students to create expressive artwork, emphasizing that art can help release big feelings. Students can also design coping cards on how they deal with big feelings.
  • Post-Reading Activities/ Critical Thinking in Literacy, Integrated Learning, Oral Language
    Role-Play Helpers
    Students role‑play asking a trusted adult for help and practice what to say.
  • Post-Reading Activities/ Comprehension Strategies, Key Ideas & Details
    Discussion Circle

    Hold a guided discussion about what students learned about feelings and asking for help.

  • Post-Reading Activities/ Developing & Creating Texts, Oral Language
    Story Reflection
    Students complete the sentence: “One thing this story taught me is…” through drawing or dictation, or written essay
  • Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
    Build a Feeling Kite

    Explain that kites in the story represent feelings that can change. Have students choose one feeling they experience often. Students draw symbols, colors, or images on their kite to represent that feeling. Attach yarn as a tail and allow students to share what their kite shows. Display kites to reinforce that all feelings are welcome and changeable.

  • Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
    Emotional Charades
    Write emotions from the story on cards (happy, worried, calm, overwhelmed). One student chooses a card and acts out the feeling. The class guesses and explains clues that helped them decide. Afterwards, discuss how bodies show feelings even without words.
  • Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
    Color Your Feelings
    Give students blank paper and art supplies. Call out different emotions and ask students to choose colors that match. Ask the students create abstract drawings, then invite sharing without judgment or correction.
  • Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
    Stuffed Animal Calm Time

    Provide stuffed animals or pillows. Teach students slow breathing while holding the object. Explain that calm tools help our bodies feel safe.

  • Post-Reading Activities/ Just for Fun!
    Make a Calm Corner Tool
    Students decorate a small card with calming strategies (draw, breathe, talk). Cards can be kept in desks or cubbies for later use.