Once Upon a Balloon

September 15, 2013
A lighter-than-air answer to that eternal question: Where do balloons go? Chicago. Specifically, they end up with Frank, Chicago's Nocturnal City Collection Custodian, who travels around the Windy City with a bouquet of specialized tools to retrieve lost balloons. Poor Frank is overworked and dreams of eventual replacement by a robot that might liberate him to enjoy Chicago in the daytime. At least this is the story that Zeke tells his little brother, Theo, after Theo lets go of the string of his new green balloon. Theo is so taken by the story that Zeke writes a message to Frank on his orange balloon, and then the brothers let it go as well. Malenfant uses a deliberately childlike style to illustrate this sweet flight of fancy, which celebrates storytelling, the bond between siblings and the wonder of a serendipitous connection, all at the same time. The image of lonely, hardworking Frank sitting in a deserted dugout with a few stray balloons says it all. But appealing as Theo, Zeke and the perhaps-fictitious Frank are, it's hard not to wonder whether yet another story that celebrates releasing balloons is the best thing we could be doing for the world, particularly as Theo's killjoy mother delivers a story that is probably closer to the truth than Zeke's: that balloons probably pop as the air pressure changes, resulting in balloon fragments on the ground. Maybe it's time for balloon stories to retire along with Frank. (Picture book. 4-8)

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December 1, 2013

K-Gr 3-Theo watches the string of his green ballon slip through his clenched fist and disappear in the sky. Neither parent can tell him where it has gone, so he asks his brother, who knows everything about everything. "Chicago," says Zeke. "It is a little-known fact that all lost balloons end up in Chicago." He tells Theo about Frank, the Nocturnal City Collection Custodian, who has cleared the streets, trees, fountains, and ballparks of balloons for 35 years. He wants to retire and enjoy some of the many celebrations he has missed, but no one wants his job. This story touches Theo's tender heart, so the brothers send a message on a balloon to Frank, encouraging him to finish the robot that he tinkers with periodically. Though they can never be sure of the outcome, the last page shows Frank arm-in-arm with it, now holding a bunch of balloon strings securely in his clamp grip. The artwork, done in watercolor, colored pencil, and pastels, is as droll as the text. Some landscapes curve like giant balloons, while a highway, floating in the clouds, is flooded with balloons from Japan. This story is for every child who has ever let go of a balloon and wondered where it went. Zeke's fanciful story is a gift to his younger brother, strengthening the bonds between them. It is a fine choice for storytime and a welcome addition to all libraries.-Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
When Theo's balloon flies away, his older brother tells him that "all lost balloons end up in Chicago" (i.e., the Windy City) where balloon "custodian" Frank gathers them up. The mythology around Frank, who longs to retire but can't find someone to take over, is interesting but somewhat overelaborate (readers may want to get back to Theo); the multimedia art is imaginative.

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