The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean

Very enjoyable story about a little boy whose father dies while "riding" a kite. Haoyou eventually takes up kite riding as he tries to help his mother and sister. But his obedience to his gambling uncle and the unwanted attention of the man who wants to marry his mother threaten to spoil everything. Lovely little story, with a nice description of China in the time of the Kublai Khan.