The Blue Balloon - Hardcover

Rezensionen

PreS --This British import offers clean, uncluttered graphics joined with a simple story segmented into one or two sentences per double-page spread. The young child, whose antics readers follow, is reminiscent of an Oxenbury child, and the occasional expanded and unusual fold-out pages will no doubt add to the book's child appeal. The story, however, is slight indeed. The child's dog finds "a soggy blue balloon" that, once inflated, offers a host of unending magical tricks, including an extraterrestrial excursion that thoroughly entertains the child but that will leave readers flat. Although appealing to look at, this book offers little in the way of originality or substance. The Blue Balloon would do best to sail silently back across the sea from whence it came. --J. J. Votapka, North Bellmore Pub . Lib . , North Bellmore, NY
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

It's certainly true that children love balloons, and the balloon in this captivating fantasy is an exceptional one indeed. It looks like an ordinary, soggy blue balloon when the family dog finds it in the garden, but the boy soon finds out that it has "Strange and Wonderful Powers." This balloon is indestructible: it refuses to pop, even when squeezed, squashed and whacked with a stick. It disappears and comes back shaped like a square; it even takes the boy "for a fly" to another planet. Readers will delight in discovering that the book, like the balloon, has some special features: several pages fold out (and/or up), enabling the balloon to grow and stretch into various shapes. Both boy and dog have wonderfully expressive faces as they react to the balloon's extraordinary feats. Inkpen has created an imaginative, beautifully produced book. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.