1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sweet, Melissa . Balloons Over Broadway: The Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. Ill. Melissa Sweet Boston, MA : Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011.
Age Range: 6-9 Lexile: 835
2012 Sibert Medal
2012 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.
2. Summary
Every Thanksgiving, before the feasting on turkey and the trimmings, people of all ages wake up
to watch Macy's annual three hour parade of balloons, Broadway shows, and the big man himself, Santa Claus. But how did all begin? In Balloons over Broadway, learn about Tony Sarag, and how his famous balloons help to create an American tradition.
3. My Review
This is a really great book, especially because gives us a different look at Thanksgiving ( besides turkeys, pilgrims, and giving thanks.) What really surprised me was that the parade was created for their employees, particularly the immigrants unable to return home for the holidays (and that originally there were LIVE animals before Sarag, which the author playfully tells us "rhymes with aargh", created the upside-down marionettes.)
The most appealing aspect of Balloons is the artwork. Sweet uses uses colorful watercolor paintings, unique typography, mixed media collage and 3-D puppets based on Sarag's creations to bring the story to life. News clippings and additional information on Sarag ( including actual photos) also add to the book.
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| Sarag's AHA moment, as seen through the illustrations of Melissa Sweet. |
| Sarag and one of his creations. |
Whether you've seen the parade once or a million times, Balloons over Broadway is a must read for one and all. I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving.
| By the way, Sweet designed the poster for the 2011 parade . |
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| One of the many puppets you can create using the online activity kit ( see link here). |
4. Classroom Connections
- The book has an online activity kit, featuring masks and puppets based on Sweet's illustrations. Check it out (and one of the examples above).
- What would like to see in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade? Have children create their own floats, balloons, balloonicles( float/ balloon combos) using crayons, construction paper, whatever you have on hand.
- Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on Thursday, November 28 at 9am on NBC. Or look for past clips on Youtube.
- Have children write or draw what they are most thankful for.
Here are two ideal websites related to the book-
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade- The parade's offical website. Features the history of the parade, games, merchaise, and this year's entertainment line-up ( which includes Jimmy Fallon and the Roots, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the men of Duck Dynasty.)
Melissa Sweet- Author's official website, featuring all her books, games, and more.
Looking for books on the Thanksgiving holiday? Here are some recommendations-
- Bleier, Edward. The Thanksgiving Ceremony: New Traditions for America's Family Feast. New York, N.Y. : Crown Publishers, c2003.
- Crane,Carol. P is for Pilgrim: A Thanksgiving Alphabet. Chelsea, Mich. : Sleeping Bear Press c2003.
- Heiligman, Deborah. Celebrate Thanksgiving. Washington, D.C. : National Geographic, c2006.
- Mercer, Abbie. Happy Thanksgiving. New York : PowerKids Press, 2007.
- Waters, Kate. Giving Thanks: the 1621 Harvest Feast.New York : Scholastic Press, 2001.
Looking for more books on Thanksgiving? Here are some keywords to use in your library catalog:
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day-Juvenile literature
Thanksgiving Day-History-Juvenile literature
Again, Happy Thanksgiving and thanks to all that read this blog!
This looks like such a fun book! I'm a fan of the parade balloons so you can guarantee this is going on my to-read list. This would make an excellent addition to a Thanksgiving book display.
ReplyDeleteI love this book! I read it to second graders yesterday, and they really enjoyed it too. They made lots of comments about the eye-catching illustrations. After reading the book, we did a Google image search to find pictures of parade balloons past and present. (I wanted to use Macy's official parade site, but it was blocked at school for some reason.) Then the students each typed a paragraph about which character they would like to see as a balloon. I was surprised by how many students said they'd never watched the parade. They were in awe when I showed them pictures of the balloons. I wish I would have thought to look for a clip or two on youtube to show them, like you suggested. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat book!! I will have to remember this one for the future. Although I teach U.S History to high school students, I also have to teach a little about the holidays that we celebrate here in the United States as they happen due to the fact that I have foreign exchange students. This year I have nine from various countries. This will be a great addition to have as we talk about traditions and customs. This often opens a dialogue so they feel comfortable telling our students what it is like in their country for holidays. Great job!!
ReplyDeleteJennifer L. Cornelius
I'm so glad that your reviewed this book. I've had it checked out all semester thinking I would do a post on it but always ended up picking something else. Your classroom connections are really strong, and they are things that could be easily adapted to multiple age groups. And how great that the book includes an online activity kit. I've raved before about 'extras' like this that are included in nonfiction titles, but this one might take the cake!
ReplyDelete