Sweet, Melissa. (211). Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade.
Genre: Illustrated Biography
Awards: Golden Kite Award
Lexile Measure: AD1000L
DRA: 30
AR: 4.0
Summary: Melissa Sweet brings to life one of New York City's most anticipated yearly events, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Her picture book biography of Tony Sarg, tells the story a boy that collected toys and loved to figured out how they worked. Tony read a book about the decay of marionettes and wanted to be the artist to revive them. With his curiosity and problem-solving techniques he invented and engineered the first massive helium balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and is now considered by many the Father of American Puppetry.
Reader Response:This books will get kids interested in art, history, and get them to problem-solve. What makes this biography interesting is the mixed media illustrations. Melissa Sweet also provides instructive diagrams, portions of Sarg's own sketches and samples of his original creations. Another interesting feature of this book is the side commentary from a wooden puppet explaining extra information and asking relevant questions. In her website, Melissa Sweet provides many teaching ideas that include a full research of Tony Sarg, puppets and storytelling, puppetry across cultures, and much more.
Other website that will be helpful to make connections with the book:
Official Macy's Thanksgiving Parade
Balloons Over Broadway Activity Kit
Other books by Melissa Sweet:
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