#12 Where do Balloons Go?

Title: Where Do Balloons Go?

Author: Jamie Lee Curtis

Illustrator: Laura Cornell

Publishing Company: Harper Collins Publishers

Copyright Date: 2000

# of Pages: 32

Genre/Category: Poetry

     I chose this book because someone did a book talk on it, and I really wanted to know how it ended. I was also interested to read this book since Jamie Lee Curtis is the author. It is a very sweet book about a boy who lets go of his balloon. He asks himself where it could have gone since all he can see is a big blue sky. The little boy comes up with silly ideas of what his balloon could be doing, and then he decides he is glad that the balloon is free to do what it pleases.

            I could not find the medium, but I would guess the illustrations were made using water colors and ink sketches. The pictures are soft, and the colors are mostly warm. At the end, the colors change to cool as the boy decides he is glad his balloon is free. The illustrator did not use negative space. Most of the illustrations cover a horizontal two-page spread.

            I think this book would be appropriate for children ages 5-9. It is easy for children to relate to, and most children have probably already asked themselves where balloons go. Teachers could use this book to introduce poetry. Teachers could also use this book to explain how different types of text, such as the text in the balloons, add to the story. This would also be a fun book to use as a writing prompt. Students could write a narrative about a time they lost something, or they could write about another place a balloon might go. For example, when I lost a balloon when I was a child, my mom told me that I should not be sad because it would float all the way up to heaven and little angel children would be able to enjoy it.