An "off the beaten path" Thanksgiving book, Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet is entertaining and informative. I never knew until I was researching diverse Thanksgiving books, that Macy's Parade was originally created for the immigrants that worked for R.H. Macy as a way to alleviate some of the homesick feelings they had around the holiday time.
Tony Sarg was an immigrant himself. The book introduces Sarg as a young boy who knew he was a "marionette man" by the age of 6. He traveled from London to New York City where his gift of crafting marionettes became so well-known, they appeared on Broadway. Sarg was contacted by R.H. Macy to create something special for his holiday store windows. This led to a bigger job of creating the parade.
The evolution of the balloon puppets is a very interesting history. The balloons were a replacement for the live animals that appeared. The first puppets were made from air-filled rubber and were held up with wooden sticks, so people could only see them if they were in the first few rows. The wheels starting churning in Sarg's brain as he thinks of another way to create balloons that can be seen from a distance. And so the story evolves to the balloons we are more familiar seeing in the parade.
Sweet did a neat job of combining her fun illustrations of the story along with the more informative aspect. Some of the illustrations show sketches and brainstorms from Sarg which is a great way to show students the planning process. It was cool to see photographs of Sarg in the book and even a newspaper clipping advertising the Macy's Day Parade.
This book was an enjoyable read and I can't wait to read it to my 4th & 5th graders this week. For an activity guide, click here or a discussion guide, click here.
Image from melissasweet.net
Having listened to The Lady and the Panda by Vicki Croke, I've become an admirer of Mrs. Ruth Harkness for her bravey, persistance, and dedication in bringing the first live panda to the United States in the '30s. With surprise and delight I cracked open the children's version of her story, Mrs. Harkness and the Panda by Alicia Potter. It is an enjoyable 2nd grade and up read aloud and does a good job of summarizing Harkness's journey to China.
Dress designer Ruth Harkness took over her husband's expedition after he died in China. All her friends thought she was crazy to even fathom the trek to find a panda. But, Ruth was determined to finish what her husband started. She packed up and sailed to China. She met more friends that told her she should just turn back. But, there was one person who said he would help her, a young Chinese man named Quentin Young.
Packed with all their 22 pieces of luggage, they set off with their crew through the mountains of China. They searched and searched, only finding traces of panda habitation, yet no live panda. Then one day they hear a small moan from a tree--it's a baby panda! Ruth takes the panda, Su Lin, back to the United States, where he enjoys a home at Brookfield Zoo. This allowed the whole world to know of the giant panda.
The illustrations by Caldecott honor-winner Melissa Sweet add an extra depth to the story. She uses materials from a trip to China she went on to illustrate this work. There is also a couple of photographs of Harkness and Su Lin.
Random House offers a teacher's guide via this link.
Cover image from randomhouse.com
