Title: Please Bring Balloons
Author/Illustrator: Lindsay Ward
Age Group: 2-5
Synopsis: A young girl receives a strange note and and goes on the adventure of a lifetime after delivering balloons to polar bear at the carousel.
The Low Down:
If your not lured into opening this book by its cover then I don’t think there’s anything to be done. Ward not only draws readers in in this wonderfully imaginative story but also continues to stun page after page with absolutely amazing illustrations. We love not only the imaginative ideas and thoughts this story inspires but the amazing journey that it seems to take its reader on.
Emma find a note left for her by the polar bear at the carousel and decides to play along when she reads that it requests she bring balloons next time. Once she does, she and the polar bear begin to fly away. Their destination? A surprise. But oh, what a surprise! Emma gasps when she sees the number of polar bears that have congregated at the north pole for a polar bear rumpus. She falls asleep on the way home and when she wakes up the next day isn’t sure whether the adventure truly transpired. But then when she finds another note from the polar bear she knows she can’t say no.
About halfway through reading this story I realized that every piece of the illustrations are cut from paper. It took us twice as long to read after that because then we were looking at each page for hints as to what type of paper was used. Old maps, ticket stubs, envelopes, sheet music, the list goes on and catapults this truly marvelous tale to an even more interesting level. Ward seems to play with the book, creatively using the pages so that the illustrations almost drape themselves for the reader to gaze upon. There’s pull out pages and such a fun combination of colors and patterns that it’s very difficult for the reader not to enjoy themselves. Absolutely stunning and truly unique, this was a phenomenal read.
Story Tips:
- Don’t skip the endpapers.
- Study the illustrations, it’s so fun to see into Ward’s ideas.
I need more!
Lindsay Ward has quite a few books out. We especially want to get our hands on Don’t Forget Dexter. For more about her and her books go to: http://lindsaymward.com/books/
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