Module 3: The Twenty-One Balloons

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

Book Summary:

This is a story about William Waterman Sherman, a recently retired teacher, who decides to go on an epic hot air balloon trip. He leaves with little fanfare in a single balloon, but returns with a thrilling story and twenty balloons. He tells his fascinating tale of accidentally landing on the Island of Krakatoa and the friends he made while there. He also reveals why his time on Krakatoa was cut short and how he ended up stranded with twenty balloons.

APA Reference of Book:

du Bois, W.P. (1947/1986). The twenty-one balloons. New York, NY: Puffin Books.

Impressions:

This book started off really slow for me. I was intrigued with how William Waterman Sherman ended his journey with twenty balloons. The people that he met on Krakatoa were fascinating and it was fun to hear about their new invented way of life. However, I would not say this is one of my favorites. I also think children would struggle with staying interested. It still is a good book that will be appreciated by anyone with an adventurous spirit.

Professional Review:

“Sacre bleu!  A Newbery Award winner in the flesh!  One that I am pleased to report does very well indeed in the library these days.  Kids like checking it out and, I dare say, there may even be a couple that enjoy reading it too.  And why not?  This book has it all.  Crazy inventions.  Diamonds.  A huge explosion.  The works!”

Bird, E. (2012, May 22). Top 100 children’s novels #64: The twenty-one balloons by William Pene du Bois. [Review of the book The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois]. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/05/22/top-100-childrens-novels-64-the-twenty-one-balloons-by-william-pene-du-bois/

Library Uses:

A fun activity to go along with this book would be to have kids draw all the things they would bring with them if they took a long hot air balloon trip. This could be on a paper with a hot air balloon image on it. Kids could “design” their balloon and then fill it up with all the things they want to take with them. Then all of the finished balloons could be hung up as a library bulletin board display, saying “We are off on an adventure!”. An extra activity that could be done is having a balloon send-off. A bunch of balloons could be filled with helium, taken outside and released all at one time. Kids could even leave a fun note inside.