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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
i had to read this for school 2 years ago for school, but i feel like need to voice how bad this book is
THIS BOOK IS TERRIBLE
ok i’m done
THIS BOOK IS TERRIBLE
ok i’m done
Definitely old-fashioned. But in a charming way.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a recent dinner read-aloud. It was a book I discovered from the Build Your Library book lists (A literature-based homeschool curriculum.) The first part of the book was hilarious with much laughing out loud. Once on the island, it becomes less funny and more technical--what with describing the island and its "government" and technological advances. However, it still kept the kids' interests.
I first encountered this book when my grade five, I think, teacher read it to us in class. I remembered it fondly, and thought I'd re-visit it. Many of the things I enjoyed about it then I still did now; specifically, the notion of living apart from regular society, surrounded by fantastic inventions made possible by unlimited funds and a less rigourous set of physics than we live with in reality. The idea of the society based on restaurants like that also sounded appealing. It's also interesting, when you're dealing with an explosion of this magnitude, that left pretty much nothing behind, to imagine what might have been there before. Because any evidence that might have been there would have been utterly obliterated, an author is free to imagine anything, and that's fun.
In terms of writing, it's very simplistic, as kids books of that era almost inevitably are, and littered with a selection of the offensive attitudes of the times towards women and people of any heritage other than European Caucasian. That aspect is unfortunate, but standard in books of that time period, and I've certainly read much worse.
Ultimately, it was cute, and a nice, quick, fluffy read on a day that is too damn hot for anything else.
In terms of writing, it's very simplistic, as kids books of that era almost inevitably are, and littered with a selection of the offensive attitudes of the times towards women and people of any heritage other than European Caucasian. That aspect is unfortunate, but standard in books of that time period, and I've certainly read much worse.
Ultimately, it was cute, and a nice, quick, fluffy read on a day that is too damn hot for anything else.
I read this aloud with my son for the Level 4 Building Your Library curriculum. It's a quirky, somewhat bizarre story about a group of people who settled on Krakatoa in the years before it exploded. The book has kind of a Babar/Curious George feel to me, not in the language so much as in the somewhat cartoonish atmosphere. The beginning was slow, and we almost gave up, but before long we were both engaged in the story and looking forward to seeing what happened. Well, we knew what would happen to Krakatoa, but we were curious about what happened to the characters living there.
The biggest complaint my son has with the book is that the drawings of people are a little terrifying.
Overall, it's not what I'd consider great literature, but it's an enjoyable read.
The biggest complaint my son has with the book is that the drawings of people are a little terrifying.
Overall, it's not what I'd consider great literature, but it's an enjoyable read.
I loved this, and it was not nearly as dated as I feared. For more details, see my my review here at The Newbery Project.
Professor William Waterman Sherman, tired of his life as a teacher and of people in general, sets out in a hot air balloon to travel the world and avoid human interaction. (Balloon aside, these are goals.) Unforeseen circumstances result in the loss of his balloon and all his belongings, and Professor Sherman finding himself stranded on the island of Krakatoa. Far from deserted, however, Krakatoa hosts a population of 20 families--each comprised of a husband, a wife and two children--who, with the financial assistance of a massive diamond mine, have built lavishly furnished houses and established a gourmet-based government without any detection from the outside world.
The bulk of The Twenty-One Balloons comprises Professor Sherman's tour of the island, from the man-made structures to the strange geographical features resultant of the supposedly-dormant volcano at the island's center. But, as revealed at the beginning of this tale and true to our real-life world, the Krakatoa volcano erupts, throwing the island paradise and its inhabitants into chaos. It's an adventurous story and no less exciting knowing that Professor Sherman is the one telling it to us.
I love stories within stories. Meta-narratives are my bread and butter. The Twenty-One Balloon thus satisfies, as it is both the story of Professor Sherman's adventures around the globe and the story of his return home and subsequent telling of his adventure. There's even an intermission, giving both audiences (us and the one in the story) a nice little breather from all the suspense. And this adds an interesting quality to the narrative, as we are reading it in Professor Sherman's voice, with his asides to the audience, and in the performative setting of an auditorium.
Beyond that, The Twenty-One Balloons is a fabulously inventive book. Based in part on scientific principles and real-life geographic fact, Pene du Bois grounds his (sometimes literal) flights of fancy in logic, providing accompanying illustrations of many of the island's inventions to justify their functionality. And it should be noted that this is a period book: written in the 1947, the Krakatoa volcano erupted in 1883. This means Pene du Bois is able to comment on then-innovations that became common in a wry, absurd way. Electricity, for example. Professor Sherman and his host encounter an invention in one of the houses involving an electric current. Furniture bumper cars, a modern audience would recognize. But to Sherman and his host, the device seems ridiculous and monstrously unsafe: soon proven to be so when it tips the host out the window.
I also appreciate the brevity of Pene du Bois's storytelling. So much adult fiction feels padded to me: trying to add detail to obfuscate plot points, trying to be clever. But a children's story like The Twenty-Balloons doesn't concern itself with plot twists and turns. As I said, one of the most exciting parts of the story is revealed at the beginning! The Twenty-One Balloons just tells a good, solid story. No frills. And no surprises beyond the ones we discover alongside Professor William Waterman Sherman.
Simply put, The Twenty-One Balloons is a simple story, fully realized. Chock full of creative ideas, Pene du Bois goes to great lengths to explain those ideas in full, to make them real. Admittedly, there are certain elements of this story that--though acceptable at the time--might raise a few eyebrows now. Nothing like the colonialism of Babar, say, but there's some vocabulary in here you'd want to discuss with your kids. (If you have kids. I just talk to myself about it.) But don't let that discourage you from picking it up. It's wonderful story, wonderfully told.
I loved The Twenty-One Balloons as a kid, forgot about it for years, and am glad to have found it again, because it definitely hold up. Check it out!
The bulk of The Twenty-One Balloons comprises Professor Sherman's tour of the island, from the man-made structures to the strange geographical features resultant of the supposedly-dormant volcano at the island's center. But, as revealed at the beginning of this tale and true to our real-life world, the Krakatoa volcano erupts, throwing the island paradise and its inhabitants into chaos. It's an adventurous story and no less exciting knowing that Professor Sherman is the one telling it to us.
I love stories within stories. Meta-narratives are my bread and butter. The Twenty-One Balloon thus satisfies, as it is both the story of Professor Sherman's adventures around the globe and the story of his return home and subsequent telling of his adventure. There's even an intermission, giving both audiences (us and the one in the story) a nice little breather from all the suspense. And this adds an interesting quality to the narrative, as we are reading it in Professor Sherman's voice, with his asides to the audience, and in the performative setting of an auditorium.
Beyond that, The Twenty-One Balloons is a fabulously inventive book. Based in part on scientific principles and real-life geographic fact, Pene du Bois grounds his (sometimes literal) flights of fancy in logic, providing accompanying illustrations of many of the island's inventions to justify their functionality. And it should be noted that this is a period book: written in the 1947, the Krakatoa volcano erupted in 1883. This means Pene du Bois is able to comment on then-innovations that became common in a wry, absurd way. Electricity, for example. Professor Sherman and his host encounter an invention in one of the houses involving an electric current. Furniture bumper cars, a modern audience would recognize. But to Sherman and his host, the device seems ridiculous and monstrously unsafe: soon proven to be so when it tips the host out the window.
I also appreciate the brevity of Pene du Bois's storytelling. So much adult fiction feels padded to me: trying to add detail to obfuscate plot points, trying to be clever. But a children's story like The Twenty-Balloons doesn't concern itself with plot twists and turns. As I said, one of the most exciting parts of the story is revealed at the beginning! The Twenty-One Balloons just tells a good, solid story. No frills. And no surprises beyond the ones we discover alongside Professor William Waterman Sherman.
Simply put, The Twenty-One Balloons is a simple story, fully realized. Chock full of creative ideas, Pene du Bois goes to great lengths to explain those ideas in full, to make them real. Admittedly, there are certain elements of this story that--though acceptable at the time--might raise a few eyebrows now. Nothing like the colonialism of Babar, say, but there's some vocabulary in here you'd want to discuss with your kids. (If you have kids. I just talk to myself about it.) But don't let that discourage you from picking it up. It's wonderful story, wonderfully told.
I loved The Twenty-One Balloons as a kid, forgot about it for years, and am glad to have found it again, because it definitely hold up. Check it out!
I thought this book was very imaginative and a wonderful adventure. Well done William Pene Du Bois! A very appropriate winner of the Newbery Award.
What a peculiar story! William Sherman, tired of teaching ungrateful children, decides to travel around the world in a hot air balloon. Sherman succeeds, but not in the way he'd anticipated. Unexpectedly, Sherman crashes on the island of Krakatoa. Instead of finding a deserted island, however, he comes upon a strange community of people.
The community has a source of wealth, a magnificent diamond mine, that allows the people to do anything they wish. The people have created a zany civilization founded upon the idea of restaurants, eating out at a different family's restaurant every night. Sherman is shown novel designs for homes and odd inventions that have come from the clever minds of the island's residents. Despite their apparent creativity and great wealth, the people choose to live on an island that, every hour of the day, threatens their lives. And, of course, as one might expect, the moment comes when Krakatoa blows. Somehow, the people are able to escape without harm and Sherman is able to return home to San Francisco.
Very, very peculiar book.
And what an odd coincidence that Twenty-One Balloons is my twenty-first book of the year!
The community has a source of wealth, a magnificent diamond mine, that allows the people to do anything they wish. The people have created a zany civilization founded upon the idea of restaurants, eating out at a different family's restaurant every night. Sherman is shown novel designs for homes and odd inventions that have come from the clever minds of the island's residents. Despite their apparent creativity and great wealth, the people choose to live on an island that, every hour of the day, threatens their lives. And, of course, as one might expect, the moment comes when Krakatoa blows. Somehow, the people are able to escape without harm and Sherman is able to return home to San Francisco.
Very, very peculiar book.
And what an odd coincidence that Twenty-One Balloons is my twenty-first book of the year!
We read this as a class in the second grade. I thought it was so boring. I should probably read it again, based on other people's raves, but I honestly hated it as a child.