Where Do Balloons Go?: An Uplifting Mystery by Jamie Lee Curtis, Laura Cornell (Illustrator), Laura Cornell (Illustrator)

From Barnes & Noble

In a fun, spirited exploration of an age-old question and one little boy's imagination, author Jamie Lee Curtis and illustrator Laura Cornell take kids along for the ride as they follow the journey of a free-flying balloon in Where Do Balloons Go?: An Uplifting Mystery. This is the same author-illustrator team that brought young readers Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born and Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day, which spent nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Like its predecessors, Where Do Balloons Go? offers a feast of mental and visual stimulation as it examines the potential joys and perils inherent in a vividly imagined world populated with stray balloons.

With its snappy, rhyming prose and Cornell's colorfully splashy illustrations, Where Do Balloons Go? is both ear- and eye-catching. The open-ended question format should provide plenty of stimulation for active, young imaginations, and the pictures are chock-full of details. And lest that not be enough, there's also a page of vinyl stickers that can be used and reused on the slick, colorful endpapers -- one featuring a cloud-studded sky, the other showing a background of stars and comets in outer space. The book's appeal for young readers is obvious. Far subtler is the entertainment it also provides for adult readers in the slyly humorous details of Cornell's illustrations.

--Beth Amos

From the Publisher

Haven't you ever wondered...where do balloons go? Jamie Lee Curtis, the critically-acclaimed and New York Times best-selling author of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day, tackles one of childhood's biggest little mysteries in her newest book, Where Do Balloons Go?: An Uplifting Mystery. When one little boy accidently lets go of his balloon, his imagination takes him on its journey. Where Do Balloons Go? is a wistful and humorous glimpse at a child's growing sense of independence that guarantees that no one will ever look at a stray balloon the same way again.

Publishers Weekly

This far-fetched tale by the creators of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day may well raise youngsters' spirits as verse and art muse fancifully on the possible fates of wayward balloons. Cornell casts the balloons in human roles as the young narrator, a boy who has accidentally let go of his balloon's string, wonders, "Where do they go when they float far away? Do they ever catch cold and need somewhere to stay?" The zany accompanying cartoon pictures show a balloon sitting on the couch in a doctor's waiting room and another approaching a hotel, its string attached to a suitcase. In other scenarios, balloons dine in a restaurant, write postcards home and "cha-cha with birds" on the wing of an airplane, culminating in a four-page fold-out spread of "a big balloon dance." Bursting with color and balloons of all shapes, sizes and functions (many balloons making encore appearances bear clever messages or advertisements), Cornell's busy art provides ample diversion for young readers. Though not as memorable as some of the collaborators' earlier work, this volume, like the high-flying balloon that sets a boy's imagination soaring, is way out there--in a kid-pleasing way. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Children's Literature

All of us have watched a helium balloon sailing high up in the sky, leaving a sad somebody behind on the ground. Where do they go, really? Do they tango with airplanes? Or cha-cha with birds? Everyone will have fun with the fresh language and witty, colorful illustrations of this sophisticated picture book. Kids of all ages will pore over the details. There is a postcard a balloon might send another balloon ("Enjoying the hot air treatments, keeping full and shiny") and balloons sitting at the "Coffee and Helium House," reading. It is hilarious. The book design is also very clever. There are two pages that surprise the reader by opening-up to a big balloon dance. Best of all, there are re-usable stickers of balloons, sunglasses, funny hats—all things from the illustrations, and two glossy areas, one of a blue sky, and the other outer space, to play on. Who could be sad about losing a balloon after all that? With so much going for it, this book is sure to be very popular. 2000, HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler Books, $16.95. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Nancy Partridge

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-"Where do balloons go when you let them go free?" That's the question explored by this child narrator. All kinds of possibilities are considered: Do they catch cold? Get married? Correspond? And the dangers must be considered: wires, trees, tall buildings, balloon-twisting clowns, and balloon-chasing dogs, not to mention the perils of heat from the sun. And just how far do they go? While there are no definite answers to all this speculation, the fun is in the wondering ("Do they tango with airplanes? Or cha-cha with birds?") and in the whimsical cartoon art that raises the prospects to new heights. Combining small vignettes with double-page spreads and even a four-page foldout, Cornell uses lush watercolors and lots of lettering on unconventionally shaped balloons and vehicles to add plenty of visual humor. The illustrations are riotously colorful, textured, and jam packed with details that extend the basic idea. A lighthearted romp to pore over and enjoy.-Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Entertainment Weekly - Clarissa Cruz

As th brightly colored orbs encounter everything from power lines to balloon-twisting clowns, the story evolves into a touching metaphor for parents learning to let their kids go, But it's the witty details in Cornell's illustrations that make this a multigenerational treat.

Product Details

• ISBN: 006027980X
  
• ISBN-13: 9780060279806
• Format: Hardcover, 36pp
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Pub. Date: August 2000
• Sales Rank: 7,744
• Age Range: 4 to 7