Hemma and the Kites of Lahore

The story

Hemma never goes anywhere without her straw sewing basket, her silver thimble and her spool of shiny gold thread. She patches teddy bears, mends socks and, unfortunately, stitches her classmates' sleeves to their desks.

When Burpalot's giant burp leaves a smoking hole in the schoolyard, Hemma can't resist mending it. But something on the other side pulls her thread, and she tumbles out on top of the Eiffel Tower. Only it isn't in Paris. It's in Lahore, Pakistan.

There, a rickshaw ride, a sky full of black kites and a grandmother's flower shawl lead Hemma to the bird who has been tugging her gold thread all along. A bedtime story full of sewing, birds and a little bit of magic.

The real place: The Eiffel Tower of Lahore

Three things to tell your kid after the story.

1. 1Lahore has its own copy of the Eiffel Tower, built in 2014 in a neighborhood called Bahria Town.
2. 2Black kites are birds of prey that circle over Lahore's canals. Some people toss them bits of meat for good luck, and kites decorate their nests with cloth and plastic to show off.
3. 3Phulkari means flower work: bright embroidery from the Punjab region, stitched from the back of the cloth, that grandmothers make for their granddaughters.

Next stop

EP 140 · Houston, Texas

Burpalot

Burps all the time.

EP 139 · Scottish Highlands

Gemarina

Collects anything that sparkles.