Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade written and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

 

Title: Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade  

Author: Melissa Sweet

Illustrator: Melissa Sweet

Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography

Major Awards: 2014 Blue Bonnet Awards

Ages: 4-8 Years old

Summary:

This story is about the life of Tony Sarg, who made the inventions in creating puppet balloons on Thanksgiving Day. Since, Tony Sarg was a little boy, he loved to make things move and come up with new inventions. When he was a child, his dad told him to feed the chickens at 6:30 in the morning everyday, and since he did not liked to get up early in the morning, he made an invention where he would feed the chickens without getting up from his bed. So, Tony fed the chickens by the window without getting up from his bed. When Tony grew up, he moved to London, and he discovered no-one was making puppets there anymore, so he decided to make them himself. When Tony moved to New York city, Tony's marionettes performed on Broadway. The store, Macy had heard that Tony had made the puppets, and they asked him to make more puppets. Nevertheless, Tony's puppets were made from story book characters. Many of the employees, who worked for Macy were immigrants, and so was Tony. The immigrants missed having holidays traditions where the streets would play live music and people would dance on the streets. So, Macy made shows on the streets, especially for the immigrants. Every year, the parade grew. The Macy Parade, even added tigers and lions, and children would be afraid of these animals. So, Tony made puppets made out of animals that were large enough for everyone to see and enjoy. Tony desired to see his puppets move, and move in gestures. Tony then asked the company of Ohio to help him bring in balloons filled with helium and air. The Ohio company put more helium than air, since helium is lighter than air. From that day on, huge crowds gather every morning on Thanksgiving Day as a form of tradition at New York City to see what new balloons would be out there in Macy's famous Parade. 

Book Evaluation:

1) I would recommend this book to my class because it is a fun book to read and very motivational. Beside, it based on a true story.

2) I would recommend this book to the Pre-Kinder all the way to the Third grade level.

3) I would use this book in the unit of Science. This book would be a perfect introduction to explain the difference between helium and air. This would also help them understand why certain objects move and why other objects do not move. Then, I would have them create a character animal made out of a balloon.