My Red BalloonSummary: "A young boy waits with both excitement and apprehension for his father to disembark from the aircraft carrier returning to port after many months at sea."
Strengths: This picture book is full of emotion and provides realistic images that correlate with the realistic story. I liked that the people in the book were diverse and that the story explicitly stated that a father was waiting for a daughter as opposed to a son, which helps children understand that both men and women serve in the military. Children who are read this story that are at the same age as the boy will definitely relate to the way he talks and how he is feeling.
Concerns: The topic of this story could be a touchy subject for children whose parents are serving in the military and are not coming home very soon. The story may create sad emotions, which is okay if the class is mature enough to have a discussion of that nature.
Classroom use/ Other comments: Teachers could read this story for children to consider the military and the lives of families in the military. Teachers can suggest this book to older children who have parents in the military to read individually or with a parent at home. This book could be used as a tie into a community service project of writing letters to men and women in the military. This book is useful for children ages 4-8.
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