Balloons Over Broadway - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sweet, Melissa. 2011. BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY: THE TRUE STORY OF THE PUPPETEER OF MACY'S PARADE. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 9780547199450 

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Melissa Sweet carries the reader down Broadway and through the story of the Macy's Parade, giving us an insider look into the world of Tony Sarg, the marionette man who brought it all to life. We see the gradual formation of the parade, from the initial puppeteering, to frightening zoo animals, to the final winning result- what would become the parade's magical trademark- balloons towering from a bird's eye view.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The books begins with an introduction to Tony Sarg, a boy who "became a marionette man when he was only six years old." He went on to create the Macy's Parade, held every year on Thanksgiving day, and "It was a parade New Yorkers would never forget!"

Accuracy

The author, Melissa Sweet, is a Caldecott Honor Award Winner for A RIVER OF WORDS by Jen Bryant. This book is also an award winner, as an ALA Notable Book and A Junior Library Guild Selection. The author provides a "Bibliography and Sources" page, and while the quotation sources are slightly scant, possibly to avoid overwhelming the reader, the bibliography itself contains 18 credible references.

Organization

This book is organized in a chronological fashion, beginning with Tony's childhood and making a natural progression through his major career moves into adulthood, including his participation in the creation of the Macy's Parade. Sweet makes good use of storytelling, hooking the reader right away by telling a story about young Tony Sarg's ingenuity in mechanics.

The parade progresses through the book in scale and excitement, and the reader may develop an internal dialogue that moves with the story, from "fun," to "a little scary" (with lions and tigers scaring the children), to "wow, these are neat marionette creatures," to the "enormous, amazing, towering, amazing flying balloons!" Once reaching this stage in the story, the reader is forced to turn the book sideways to take in the massive illustration. The balloons are as large as the imagination allows, even floating at eye-level with the people in the tall buildings on Broadway.

Design

An inviting design and cheery watercolor illustrations draw in the reader and might be especially appealing to young boys, who could identify with the young Tony. The illustrative technique, Sweet's own mixed-media collage, results in great texture and depth. Quite inspired, the author made her own toys to use in the illustrations. Sweet notes that she used watercolor, papier-mâché, puppets, found objects and fabrics, all to great effect.

The design-in-process boards shown in the illustrations look like something Tony himself might have used in his creative process. The materials drawers in one illustration have labels to correlate with what's inside, like "fabric," "buttons," and "doo-DAHs," giving the reader a creative itch to find things around the house to make something, too.

Style

An interesting true story, masterfully told, Melissa Sweet's build up to the "climax" balloons conveys the passion and wonder to each reader. All of the excitement of the annual parade comes through the text and the illustrations, and the reader appreciates the how-it-came-about, all because of Tony.  The book's vocabulary is appropriately simple but not condescending, and the writing style leaves the reader desirous to seek out the sources and bibliography, in order to learn more.

Everyone feels like a child watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the author captures that emotion and awe through the eyes of Tony Sarg, and through her own magical art and storytelling.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Starred Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Sweet tells this slice of American history well, conveying both Sarg's enthusiasm and joy in his work as well as the drama and excitement of the parade... This one should float off the shelves."

Starred Review from BOOKLIST: "A joyous piece of nonfiction that informs and delights in equal parts."

Starred Review from KIRKUS: "This clever marriage of information and illustration soars high."

5. CONNECTIONS

*Readers may also seek the Caldecott Honor book A RIVER OF WORDS: THE STORY OF WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS by Jen Bryant, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet, ISBN 9780802853028.

*Crafting balloons out of tissue paper and setting them aloft would be a wonderful and creative corresponding project.