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    My Red Balloon

    by Eve Bunting, Kay Life (Illustrator)

    Hardcover

    $14.76
    $14.76
     $15.95 | Save 7%

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    Customer Reviews

    • ISBN-13: 9781590782637
    • Publisher: Highlights
    • Publication date: 09/28/2005
    • Pages: 32
    • Sales rank: 94,172
    • Product dimensions: 8.81(w) x 10.75(h) x 0.34(d)
    • Lexile: AD550L (what's this?)
    • Age Range: 5 - 7 Years

    Eve Bunting is the author of the Caldecott Medal-winning Smoky Night. Among her other numerous titles are My Special Day at Third Street School, Girls A to Z, and My Backpack. She lives in Pasadena, California.

    Kay Life has illustrated more than fifteen books for children, including Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary, for which Ms. Life received the Garden State Children's Book Award. She lives in Westfield, Massachusetts.

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    The boy has been waiting for this day for many months. It's the day his daddy comes home from overseas. He jumps out of bed and gets ready for the big event. But before going downstairs for breakfast, he takes along something very important: his red balloon. There will be many families and loved ones at the pier. The red balloon will help his father find him among the crowd. But as the ship approaches, the boy loses his grip on the red balloon. Will his daddy find him in the crowd?

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    From the Publisher
    "True to the small child's viewpoint, there is no talk of war or patriotism, right or wrong, only that Daddy was 'making sure our country stays safe.'" —Booklist

    "The straightforward language is pitched perfectly and Life's naturalistic, warm-hued watercolors are reassuring. . . . Full of sentiment." —Kirkus Reviews

    "Another sensitive, caring title for service families and those who work with them." —School Library Journal

    Children's Literature
    A young boy anxiously awaits the arrival of his dad from military duty at sea. The boy's excitement is tempered by doubts. Will his dad know him? Will he rush to greet him? It has been a long time and there will be a crowd of people on the dock when the ship comes in. This story, by the author of Smokey Nights is timely and yet timeless because most kids can relate to such worries and fears even at joyful moments. The boy carries a red balloon with WELCOME HOME printed on it and his mom has written to his dad telling him to look for the balloon. As they wait on the dock, the balloon comes loose and, floats upward and the boy's worries intensify. But the balloon drifts up to the ship, welcoming all the sailors home and the boy's dad spots him and rushes to give him a big hug. The watercolor illustrations of a hesitant little boy and a loving family add to the appeal of this story. 2005, Boyds Mills Press, Ages 4 to 8.
    —Carolyn Mott Ford
    School Library Journal
    PreS-Gr 4-Today's the day a little boy's Navy Dad comes home after being at sea. As an excited crowd waits for the ship, he holds a "Welcome Home" red balloon tied tightly around his wrist so that his father can find him on the dock. He loosens the string and sadly watches the balloon float away. Of course, his daddy still finds him and all is well. Gently told, this story shows the joy felt when loved ones come home after serving our country. Realistic details such as the sailors standing on the deck in their dress whites and members of the crowd snapping pictures add authenticity. Similar in tone and theme to Mindy Pelton's When Dad's at Sea (Whitman, 2004) and Sarah Wones Tomp's Red, White, and Blue Good-bye (Walker, 2005), this book's soft, watercolor illustrations reflect the diversity of the Navy's personnel. This is another sensitive, caring title for service families and those who work with them.-Pamela K. Bomboy, Chesterfield County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
    Kirkus Reviews
    Bunting captures the tension, fear, anxiety and release in a small boy whose father is coming home from a Navy tour. He and his mom are going to meet the ship, and he is carrying a heart-shaped red balloon that says "welcome home" on it. His mother reassures him that she has told his father what to look for in the crowd. However, in all of the confusion, the balloon breaks loose and the little boy, in whose first-person voice the story is told, cries and is sure his Daddy won't know him. But of course, his dad does, watching the balloon float up to the ship and looking down to his wife and child. The straightforward language is pitched perfectly and Life's naturalistic, warm-hued watercolors are reassuring. Sailors and their families-both genders, many ages and ethnicities-populate the pages along with the blond, blue-eyed boy and equally fair parents. Not sentimental but full of sentiment. (Picture book. 4-8)

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