Review: You Can't Take A Balloon Into The Metropolitan Museum

By: Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser

Dial Books for Young Readers; 1998; 37 pages

Picture Book; Wordless Book

Ages: 4 to 7

ISBN: 0-8037-2301-6

A girl is forced by a museum guard to leave her yellow balloon in his care while she tours the Metropolitan Museum. To his dismay, the balloon begins to fly away! The wordless picture book follows two narrative threads: the little girl's awe and wonder at the works of art, and the guard's desperate attempt to safely retrieve the errant balloon.

My Thoughts:
At first I was underwhelmed by this book. It was cute, and exposed children to fine art, but...meh. Then I showed it to one of my favorite 5 year olds...and he LOVED it. He is still in preschool, and appreciated having a book that HE could read to his mom. He told her the story while she looked at the pictures. Since the art is laid out in almost comic book format, I realized it was teaching him page awareness. He was having to follow the action from left to right, top to bottom. He was also learning sequencing, and narrative flow. It was amazing. All of a sudden I was looking at the book in a whole new light.

The art is absolutely enchanting. The pictures are lively, and packed with action. However, they are primarily black and white, with only the important and pertinant characters/action shown in color. The art at the Museum is actually the art at the museum spliced in. (There are photo reproductions of paintings and sculptures inset in the drawings.) My co-reviewer, the 5 year old, pointed out that the art the little girl is seeing actually mirrors the action that the balloon is doing...a painting of musicians precedes the balloon's encounter with a jazz band, a period wedding dress precede's the balloon's infiltration of a wedding party. (He is so observant!)

This book might not seem like much at first glance...but everytime I look at it I discover more gems tucked away in the illustrations. It is a feast for the eyes, and a book that actual children actually enjoy. (Which, in truth, is the best recommendation any children's material can receive!)

The Thoughts of Others:

Publisher's Weekly noticed all of the things that I had not. They truly enjoyed this book, and point out that "Glasser's drawings capture all the energy and charm of a captivating city."

Parent Council, a semi0-annual literary review that ceased publication in 2002, also reviewed the book in 2001. It was a very positive review. They note that it is a great introduction to art appreciation, helping children become familiar with pieces that make up Western Civilization's cultural canon. (Which reminded me of the Sesame Street episodes that introduced me to the Mona Lisa and other "great works.")