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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Around the World in 80 Days lite as written by an engineer.
In The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène Du Bois, Professor William Waterman Sherman, an eccentric retired school teacher is rescued on a raft of twenty-one balloons somewhere over the Atlantic. He had last been seen some months earlier leaving for a trip across the Pacific Ocean in his own carefully designed balloon craft.
Sherman is taken back via train to San Francisco where he will be met with parades and other special events. Although the San Francisco scenes serve as a comedic outline for Sherman's adventures in the Pacific, they make for a fascinating comparison to modern day San Francisco. I kept imagining Gavin Newsom in period duds.
Most of the book though is told in flashback. It covers his flight over the Pacific with scenes that will bring to mind Up (minus the stowaway) and his time on the island of Krakatoa.
Krakatoa of course blew up in 1873 and readers will be waiting to see how Sherman and the families he meet on Krakatoa survive the blast and how Sherman ends up alone and adrift. Before the explosion though, Sherman experiences a food based economy that is supported by a large secret diamond mine.
The inclusion of the diamond mine has caused some controversy for the book over the years. It is superficially similar to F. Scott Fitzgerald's novella "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." The diamond secrecy though is just one small part of a very creative and entertaining children's adventure story.
The book won the Newberry Medal in 1947.
Sherman is taken back via train to San Francisco where he will be met with parades and other special events. Although the San Francisco scenes serve as a comedic outline for Sherman's adventures in the Pacific, they make for a fascinating comparison to modern day San Francisco. I kept imagining Gavin Newsom in period duds.
Most of the book though is told in flashback. It covers his flight over the Pacific with scenes that will bring to mind Up (minus the stowaway) and his time on the island of Krakatoa.
Krakatoa of course blew up in 1873 and readers will be waiting to see how Sherman and the families he meet on Krakatoa survive the blast and how Sherman ends up alone and adrift. Before the explosion though, Sherman experiences a food based economy that is supported by a large secret diamond mine.
The inclusion of the diamond mine has caused some controversy for the book over the years. It is superficially similar to F. Scott Fitzgerald's novella "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." The diamond secrecy though is just one small part of a very creative and entertaining children's adventure story.
The book won the Newberry Medal in 1947.
A fun and imaginitive book. I look forward to reading it to my kids someday.
Mike and I read this together out loud and it was a great book to do so. It also was about balloons! :D
This is a fun, adventurous balloon tale. Similar to UP the movie and Around the World in 80 Days. It is an enjoyable, fun tale that all ages will enjoy.
This is a fun, adventurous balloon tale. Similar to UP the movie and Around the World in 80 Days. It is an enjoyable, fun tale that all ages will enjoy.
A charming little children's book that I somehow missed out on reading when I was little. A retired school teacher takes a trip in hot air balloon and crashes on the supposedly uninhabited island of Krakatoa to find a utopia of sorts. Billions of dollars worth of diamonds, a "gourmet government", incredibly lavish households, and more. I think I might have heard about this book when I was little, because the name Krakatoa made me excited and I vaguely remember my friends and I make believing we were on Krakatoa. Either way, definitely a worthwhile read for people grades 2-5.
Completely nonsensical travelogue about a retired math teacher who makes a trip from San Francisco in a balloon. It was a Newbery winner in 1948 and I can see how it captured the imagination of the judges. There are forward thinking inventions, travel to exotic places, successful social experiments. Maybe the perfect post WWII set of ideas. Looking at it today, a lot of it really needs a bit more engineering...but it was a fun romp.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
What a delightful read! Surprisingly funny and imaginative! Loved it!