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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
This book really made an impression on me when I was little… I think I was mostly really into all the inventions. I enjoyed re-reading it but it didn’t hold up as well as I had hoped... not sure how it would play for modern kiddos, especially because of some racist/sexist elements and some stuff that doesn’t make practical/scientific sense.
This was one of my all time favorite books as a kid, so I wanted to share it with my kids. It was a lot of fun- many wry observations and a neat adventure, but the meat of the story lies in its many fantastic inventions. It holds up well almost 70 years after it was written. Highly recommended!
As I’ve been reading books for this class, I’ve had a little notebook next to me to take notes on things I’d like to talk about in my post about the book: the very first thing I wrote down for the Twenty-One Balloons was “I’m SO excited about rereading this; it’s been maybe 15 years.”
I loved then and still love the way the book opens – we’ve met our main character, albeit briefly, and are on the edge of our seats, waiting along with the rest of the world, to hear his tale. I really think this suspenseful opening stands the test of time well. It certainly still circulates in my library – we have four circulating copies, and I had to put a hold on the copy I read to get my hands on it. Definitely not something that happens to Newbery books often for us (except for newer ones, of course).
Which president was it that was so hospitable to Professor Sherman – Chester A. Arthur!
Does it seem odd to anyone else that Sherman’s time on the ship was to be paid to the captain? He was rescued!
Did anyone else catch the treatment of the Indians who received the cupola from the Explorer’s League? Amusing & refreshing after reading the Voyages of Dr. Dolittle.
With all the wonderful adventure and inventions in this book – I can’t help but notice this time around that the Professor is just a crotchety old man who wants to be left completely alone – he even lies to his new friends on Krakatoa Island MULTIPLE times to avoid having to do work that he doesn’t want to anymore (schoolteaching), DESPITE the fact that they have invited him into their society and given him a share of the diamonds – without giving him a day of the month to cook on! He has basically NO duties on the island, except to stay there for the rest of his life, and he can’t even be bothered to set aside a few hours a day to teach 40 children who have never had an education? Obviously, this isn’t something I noticed as a child, because I loved the Professor (though I did find drawings of him a little scary, they reminded me of Professor Guteberg’s corpse from the Journey to the Center of the Earth). The whole situation/relationship between the Krakatoans and the Professor peeves me a little bit. Mr. F. welcomes him onto the island, politely informing him he is to be a captive for the rest of his life, but that he will not need to do any of the work the other islanders do – he is a guest. A guest who gets an equal share of all the diamonds. He’s politely excluded from the society when Mr. F. tells him he cannot be given the name of Mr. U – but the professor is content to remain a “guest” who helps with fun things like the balloon merry go-round and the eating of delicious food, swimming in the ocean, and getting a terrific suntan.
Loved how the utopian society Mr. M. set up immediately turned capitalistic. Why didn’t I notice these things as a kid?
I did some research on bumper cars – it seems they were invented in 1919 - the same general idea as the armchairs in the M house.
The whole book to me as a child, I think, was outlined somewhat on page 110 – where Mr F. and the professor talk about the challenges between mechanical progress and elegance; technology and art.
I would and do recommend this book to children today, when the book is on the shelf! (like I said earlier, it hardly ever is.)
I haven’t yet read Certain’s article, but when I do, I’ll be back here to post about it
Really creative story, and the story is fast-paced and compelling. I loved reading about all the technology. I read this one several times as a kid.
A fun book with a lot of potential, but it never really goes anywhere. It was an easy and enjoyable read, but mostly it reminded me of other, better books I've read or movies I've watched. So while I liked the book, I found myself wishing I were reading "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" or watching "Swiss Family Robinson" or "Dr. Doolittle" (the Rex Harrison version) or "Gulliver's Travels" (Richard Harris version) or "UP" instead.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I picked this one up for a course that I am taking, and it certainly elicited the most responses from my friends and colleagues. It seems that everyone has a great childhood memory of this book. The same was true of my classmates...positive reviews across the board.
William Walter Sherman wants to take a balloon voyage around the world. He has been a teacher of mathematics for many years, and after all of that time surrounded by children, a bit of peace is just what the doctor ordered. Professor Sherman's voyage does not go exactly as planned. Only 3 weeks after leaving the California coast, he is fished out of the Atlantic Ocean clinging to the debris of 20 balloons and a bunch of platforms.
Everybody in America wants to hear the Professor's story, including the President himself. But Professor Sherman has other ideas, and he simply refuses to utter a word until he is back in his hometown of San Fransisco and in front of the members of the Western American Explorers' Club.
All of America waits as he is whisked cross country by train. Is the story worth all of the hoopla? Indeed it is!
William Pene du Bois penned a hilarious tale of exploration, accidental discovery, sheer ridiculousness and adventure that has stood up to the test of time. Complete with secret islands, volcanoes, diamond mines, kooky governments and eccentric characters, readers today turn the pages just as quickly as children likely did in the late 1940s. In fact, the copy that I took off the shelves at school is covered in penciled in graffiti declaring it "The Best Book In The World", and "Wonderful".
What could be a better review than that?
William Walter Sherman wants to take a balloon voyage around the world. He has been a teacher of mathematics for many years, and after all of that time surrounded by children, a bit of peace is just what the doctor ordered. Professor Sherman's voyage does not go exactly as planned. Only 3 weeks after leaving the California coast, he is fished out of the Atlantic Ocean clinging to the debris of 20 balloons and a bunch of platforms.
Everybody in America wants to hear the Professor's story, including the President himself. But Professor Sherman has other ideas, and he simply refuses to utter a word until he is back in his hometown of San Fransisco and in front of the members of the Western American Explorers' Club.
All of America waits as he is whisked cross country by train. Is the story worth all of the hoopla? Indeed it is!
William Pene du Bois penned a hilarious tale of exploration, accidental discovery, sheer ridiculousness and adventure that has stood up to the test of time. Complete with secret islands, volcanoes, diamond mines, kooky governments and eccentric characters, readers today turn the pages just as quickly as children likely did in the late 1940s. In fact, the copy that I took off the shelves at school is covered in penciled in graffiti declaring it "The Best Book In The World", and "Wonderful".
What could be a better review than that?
this was a very fun adventure story that bordered on the ridiculous. I could see a kid today enjoying this book!