Kai Po Che : Mini's Perfect Diamond

A 2026 Skipping Stones Multicultural and International Honor Award Winner

“Kai Po Che! I’ve cut the kite!” Mini discovers that flying her own perfect diamond during Makar Sankranti requires equal parts creativity, compassion, and courage in order to truly soar.

It’s Makar Sankranti, the Indian festival of kites, and Mini wants to join in the fun. But her older brother insists that flying kites is not for little girls. Using her craft-making skills, Mini constructs her own not-so-perfect kite and learns to fly it with her brother’s help. But during Sankranti, it’s fair game to cut another kite’s string and keep it as your own! When a red kite comes along and causes a KITE-ASTROPHE, Mini decides it’s time to challenge the red kite to a battle in the sky. In the end, she discovers that her not-so-perfect kite is really her very own perfect diamond.

Suhasini Gupta and Devika Oza create an exciting story filled with culture, determination, and the love between siblings. Filled with stunning, richly-colored illustrations and including an author's note and back matter about Sankranti and the math and science of kite flying, this book will make a delightful addition to library story times, read-alouds at home and in classrooms, and is sure to have kids shouting “Kai Po Che” and making kites of their own.

Suhasini Gupta was born and raised in India and currently lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and two beautiful kids. When she is not writing, she loves to garden, cook, watch movies, and spend time with her family. She is a member of SCBWI, Mighty Kid Lit, StoryTeller Academy, and 12x12. She is a former software engineer with a Master's in MIS from the University of Houston. Find out more about Suhasini at http://www.thesusankam.com/.

Oza is an illustrator and visual development artist who is always wanting to learn more. She believes that art is a time machine that can take you through the precious moments in the past and simultaneously throw you into the magnificent dreams of the future. She studied animation for four years and illustration for two more. When not drawing, you can find Devika dancing or playing her ukulele. Connect with Devika at www.devikaoza.com.