The Quarreling Kites

Summary

The Quarreling Kites, the Palanca-award winning children’s book, was written by Lin Acacio-Flores and
illustrated by Hermes Alegre. It is a tale of a father and a son flying two kites, a big one, and a small one.
It starts off describing the rivalry and competitiveness between the two kites. Bigger and stronger versus
smaller and faster.

We see the push to be better than the other:

“I’m better than you are. I’m bigger and stronger.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. I’m smaller and faster.”

“Hah! You call that flying?”

It goes on to show the gradual transformation from the competitive spirit and rivalry into
encouragement and friendship between the kites.

“C’mon, little brother … You can do it!”

Alongside these two characters are the father and son bonding through flying the kites. Kite flying is a
beautiful activity to share with someone.

It is an interesting way to show a parallel between two pairs of characters whose stories intertwine
throughout the book.
The Quarreling Kites is overall a beautifully illustrated story showing the rural landscapes of the
Philippines and a tale showing the development of appreciation and respect for others.

The Quarrel Summary

The Quarrel Summary of the Poem

The poem is about the relationship of siblings. They fight with each other for petty things. But in the
difficult times, they are inseparable.

The poetess wrote about her unpleasant relationship with her brother. She was unaware of the reasons
of their fights. From one thing to another the quarrel started, but when it ended it was very violent and
strong she knew that his brother was wrong.

The relationship between them was not at all cordial until one afternoon he patted on her back to give
up all differences. He did not want to continue the fight anymore.