Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving, Part 3

Although I am writing this in advance of the holiday, I can antcipate that come Thursday, our television will be tuned to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On Monday, I mentioned the book Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet, and then realized that I never posted about this book last year, although it was my favorite Thanksgiving book and I read it to nearly every class I saw that week.
From illustrations to writing, this story is a winner.  Sweet's artwork is entertaining and colorful, so much so that I could spend hours just looking at the pictures.  Tony Sarg's life story is laid out for all to know - how he began working with marionettes to then engineering the biggest marionettes of all - the balloons in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Sweet includes an author's note at book's end to give a bit more information about Balloons over Broadway as well as a bibliography.  Just as with Sarah Gives Thanks, my students loved that this story was "real" and also that they could relate to their own experiences watching the parade on television.
There are a lot of Thanksgiving books out there, but Balloons Over Broadway is a unique look at what is now a Thanksgiving tradition.

1 comment:

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with the special people in your life Tina. I count you and other bloggers in the things I am thankful for.