Sunday, March 1, 2009

No Need For Words!

picture from amazon.com
You Can't Take a Balloon Into The Metropolitan Museum
by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser
published by Dial Books for Young Readers, NY, 1998

Summary: "In this wordless story a young girl and her grandmother view works inside The Metropolitan Museum of Art, while the balloon she has been forced to leave outside floats around New York City causing a series of mishaps that mirror scenes in the museum's artworks."

Strengths: This beautifully illustrated, wordless picture book in comic format captivates readers of all ages. The important characters and pieces of art are brought to the readers' attention with color, while the background illulstrations are black and white. The connection between art and life are exquisitely portrayed through the traveling balloon and the art that the girl sees in the museum. Children reading the book may relate if they have been to the museum or the different places in New York.

Concerns: My only, very minimal, concern is that some aspects of the background, such as the plants, are illustrated in color, while other equally important elements are black and white. Although this is not a huge criticism, it does take away the consistency in the illustrations.

Classroom Use/Other Comments: This would be a fun book to have in any elementary school classroom for children aged 5 and up. Teachers could have students learn more about the different art pieces portrayed in the book. Children could also select a piece of art and create their own representation of it in today's society. Because this is a book without words, students could practice story telling and writing by writing their own text. Finally, if a class is close enough to this museum to visit, teachers could use this book as a basis for a field trip to the museum or zoo.


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