Anyone who has ever let go of a balloon string and watched the bright object go up and up and out of sight will appreciate this whimsical picture book that ponders the age-old question Where Do Balloons Go? This "uplifting mystery"--examined in singsong rhyme by Jamie Lee Curtis and playfully explored with Roz Chast-like illustrations by Laura Cornell--is a new offering from the team behind Today I Feel Silly, When I Was Little, and Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born.

Where do they go
when they float far away?
Do they ever catch cold
and need somewhere to stay?

"Do they tango with airplanes? / Or cha-cha with birds? / Can plain balloons read / balloons printed with words?" Cornell's splashy colorful spreads (one which folds out to four full pages) pop with plenty of witty details. One balloon, for example, waits nervously with a suitcase outside the Bates Motel. In a balloon-ridden urban scenario, advertisements promote balloon-friendly services such as "The Detanglers, professionals since 1934." This exuberant book will have you half-believing that balloons are people, too. A page of vinyl reusable stickers in the back can be used on the sky-and-cloud wash on the front endpaper, or the space-scape (complete with comets) on the back endpaper. Next time your child's balloon drifts away, it'll be much easier for him or her to imagine it dancing in Bolivia than caught up in phone wires! (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson


From Publishers Weekly
This far-fetched tale by the creators of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day may well raise youngsters' spirits as verse and art muse fancifully on the possible fates of wayward balloons. Cornell casts the balloons in human roles as the young narrator, a boy who has accidentally let go of his balloon's string, wonders, "Where do they go when they float far away? Do they ever catch cold and need somewhere to stay?" The zany accompanying cartoon pictures show a balloon sitting on the couch in a doctor's waiting room and another approaching a hotel, its string attached to a suitcase. In other scenarios, balloons dine in a restaurant, write postcards home and "cha-cha with birds" on the wing of an airplane, culminating in a four-page fold-out spread of "a big balloon dance." Bursting with color and balloons of all shapes, sizes and functions (many balloons making encore appearances bear clever messages or advertisements), Cornell's busy art provides ample diversion for young readers. Though not as memorable as some of the collaborators' earlier work, this volume, like the high-flying balloon that sets a boy's imagination soaring, is way out thereAin a kid-pleasing way. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-"Where do balloons go when you let them go free?" That's the question explored by this child narrator. All kinds of possibilities are considered: Do they catch cold? Get married? Correspond? And the dangers must be considered: wires, trees, tall buildings, balloon-twisting clowns, and balloon-chasing dogs, not to mention the perils of heat from the sun. And just how far do they go? While there are no definite answers to all this speculation, the fun is in the wondering ("Do they tango with airplanes? Or cha-cha with birds?") and in the whimsical cartoon art that raises the prospects to new heights. Combining small vignettes with double-page spreads and even a four-page foldout, Cornell uses lush watercolors and lots of lettering on unconventionally shaped balloons and vehicles to add plenty of visual humor. The illustrations are riotously colorful, textured, and jam packed with details that extend the basic idea. A lighthearted romp to pore over and enjoy.Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Haven't you ever wondered ...Where do balloons gowhen you let them go free?It can happen by accident.It happened to me. Do they tango with airplanes?Or cha-cha with birds?Can plain balloons readballoons printed with words?When one little boy accidentally lets go of his balloon, his imagination takes him on its journey. Jamie Lee Curtis's gentle and humorous exploration of the joys and perils of a balloon's life is whimsically brought to life by Laura Cornell's illustrations. From the best-selling author-illustrator team of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day comes another delightful mystery about letting go.Includes cool reusable stickers and two play areas!


Card catalog description
A child wonders about what happens to a balloon that is let go, as a parent would wonder about what might happen to a child once he leaves home.


About the Author
Jamie Lee Curtis is a critically-acclaimed and best-selling author. Her most recent book, Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day enjoyed an extraordinary nine weeks on the New York Times best-seller list.It has sold over 750,000 copies to date.Other best-selling titles include Tell Me Again About The Night I Was Born And When I Was Little:A Four-Year Old’sMemoir Of Her Youth. All of Curtis’ picture books have been illustrated by the acclaimed artist, Laura Cornell. Her fourth book, Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery will be published in September 2000.Curtis has demonstrated her versatility as a film actress with starring roles in such acclaimed films as the blockbuster True Lies opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, for which she earned a Golden Globe Award, and Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd for which she earned a British Film Academy award for Best Supporting Actress.Most recently Jamie starred in Halloween: H2O, which was the 20 year sequel to Halloween, —the now classic film which first brought her to the attention of audiences worldwide.Other memorable leading film role performances include A Fish Called Wanda, Fierce Creatures, Virus, Dominick And Eugene, Blue Steel, My Girl, My Girl Ii, Forever Young, Mother’s Boys, House Arrest and Love Letters.In television, Curtis co-starred opposite Richard Lewis in the acclaimed sitcom Anything But Love which earned her both a Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award, as well as TNT’s adaptation of the Wendy Wasserstein play The Heidi Chronicles which also earned her a Golden Globe nomination.More recently, Jamie starred in the CBS telefilm Nicholas’ Gift for which she received an Emmy nomination.Curtis began her Hollywood career in 1977 when she signed on as a contract player with Universal Studios.She was a regular on the television series Operation Petticoat when she was cast in Halloween.That role lead to subsequent roles in Prom Night, Terror Train and The Fog.Jamie Lee Curtis is the mother of Annie and Thomas.She has been married for 16 years to actor/director Christopher Guest.

FROM OUR EDITORS

In a fun, spirited exploration of an age-old question and one little boy's imagination, author Jamie Lee Curtis and illustrator Laura Cornell take kids along for the ride as they follow the journey of a free-flying balloon in Where Do Balloons Go?: An Uplifting Mystery. This is the same author-illustrator team that brought young readers Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born and Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day, which spent nine weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Like its predecessors, Where Do Balloons Go? offers a feast of mental and visual stimulation as it examines the potential joys and perils inherent in a vividly imagined world populated with stray balloons.

With its snappy, rhyming prose and Cornell's colorfully splashy illustrations, Where Do Balloons Go? is both ear- and eye-catching. The open-ended question format should provide plenty of stimulation for active, young imaginations, and the pictures are chock-full of details. And lest that not be enough, there's also a page of vinyl stickers that can be used and reused on the slick, colorful endpapers -- one featuring a cloud-studded sky, the other showing a background of stars and comets in outer space. The book's appeal for young readers is obvious. Far subtler is the entertainment it also provides for adult readers in the slyly humorous details of Cornell's illustrations.

--Beth Amos

ANNOTATION

A child wonders about what happens to a balloon that is let go, as a parent would wonder about what might happen to a child once he leaves home.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Haven't you ever wondered...where do balloons go? Jamie Lee Curtis, the critically-acclaimed and New York Times best-selling author of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day, tackles one of childhood's biggest little mysteries in her newest book, Where Do Balloons Go?: An Uplifting Mystery. When one little boy accidently lets go of his balloon, his imagination takes him on its journey. Where Do Balloons Go? is a wistful and humorous glimpse at a child's growing sense of independence that guarantees that no one will ever look at a stray balloon the same way again.

SYNOPSIS

From the best-selling author-illustrator team of Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell comes the story of a little boy who accidentally lets go of his balloon. He wonders "Where do balloons go when you let them go free? It can happen by accident. It's happened to me." The story follows the imagination of the boy as he wonders what happens on the balloon's journey. "Do they tango with airplanes? Or cha-cha with birds? Can plain balloons read balloons printed with words?" The lush full-color double gatefold spread and reusable vinyl stickers specially designed for the book make this a great gift and wonderful read-aloud.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This far-fetched tale by the creators of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day may well raise youngsters' spirits as verse and art muse fancifully on the possible fates of wayward balloons. Cornell casts the balloons in human roles as the young narrator, a boy who has accidentally let go of his balloon's string, wonders, "Where do they go when they float far away? Do they ever catch cold and need somewhere to stay?" The zany accompanying cartoon pictures show a balloon sitting on the couch in a doctor's waiting room and another approaching a hotel, its string attached to a suitcase. In other scenarios, balloons dine in a restaurant, write postcards home and "cha-cha with birds" on the wing of an airplane, culminating in a four-page fold-out spread of "a big balloon dance." Bursting with color and balloons of all shapes, sizes and functions (many balloons making encore appearances bear clever messages or advertisements), Cornell's busy art provides ample diversion for young readers. Though not as memorable as some of the collaborators' earlier work, this volume, like the high-flying balloon that sets a boy's imagination soaring, is way out there--in a kid-pleasing way. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Children's Literature

All of us have watched a helium balloon sailing high up in the sky, leaving a sad somebody behind on the ground. Where do they go, really? Do they tango with airplanes? Or cha-cha with birds? Everyone will have fun with the fresh language and witty, colorful illustrations of this sophisticated picture book. Kids of all ages will pore over the details. There is a postcard a balloon might send another balloon ("Enjoying the hot air treatments, keeping full and shiny") and balloons sitting at the "Coffee and Helium House," reading. It is hilarious. The book design is also very clever. There are two pages that surprise the reader by opening-up to a big balloon dance. Best of all, there are re-usable stickers of balloons, sunglasses, funny hats—all things from the illustrations, and two glossy areas, one of a blue sky, and the other outer space, to play on. Who could be sad about losing a balloon after all that? With so much going for it, this book is sure to be very popular. 2000, HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler Books, $16.95. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Nancy Partridge

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-"Where do balloons go when you let them go free?" That's the question explored by this child narrator. All kinds of possibilities are considered: Do they catch cold? Get married? Correspond? And the dangers must be considered: wires, trees, tall buildings, balloon-twisting clowns, and balloon-chasing dogs, not to mention the perils of heat from the sun. And just how far do they go? While there are no definite answers to all this speculation, the fun is in the wondering ("Do they tango with airplanes? Or cha-cha with birds?") and in the whimsical cartoon art that raises the prospects to new heights. Combining small vignettes with double-page spreads and even a four-page foldout, Cornell uses lush watercolors and lots of lettering on unconventionally shaped balloons and vehicles to add plenty of visual humor. The illustrations are riotously colorful, textured, and jam packed with details that extend the basic idea. A lighthearted romp to pore over and enjoy.-Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Clarissa Cruz - Entertainment Weekly