Please Bring Balloons

by Lindsay Ward

Isn't there something enchanting about carousels? The moment the ride begins you are zooming through the air upon a magical beast, the lines between fantasy and reality immediately blurred. And these thrills are not limited to the days of childhood, for as soon as the ride is moving you can return to that state of mind.

Please Bring Balloons is the story of a girl named Emma who finds a mysterious note under the saddle of a carousel polar bear. With the help of some balloons, the pair travel through the starry sky on an adventure, charmingly depicted through colorful, fanciful cut-paper illustrations.

Perhaps the reason this book draws you in is author Lindsay Ward's special connection to carousels. If you read the back flap of the book jacket you will read that her parents met while painting carousel animals, so her deep connection to the magic of carousels is quickly felt by the reader!

In This Issue

• Balloon Painting
• Please Bring Balloons Snack

 

Balloon Painting

Use balloons to create a painting of balloons just like the ones Emma and the polar bear use to fly away on their magical adventure! It's fun for young painters to experiment with how hard to press the balloon to make large and small circles. 

Balloon Painting

Supplies

• Paper
• Containers for Paint
• Paint
• Balloon 
• Crayons, markers, or colored pencils

1. Blow up balloon - not too big so that it is easy for little hands to grasp.
2. Pour paint into containers.
3. Dip balloon in paint and dot on paper. Let dry.
4. Using markers or crayons, add strings to the circles to create a balloon bouquet. 

 

Please Bring Balloons Snack

Sometimes having fun in the kitchen doesn't require a recipe! Kids will have great fun tearing cheese into strings, cutting their own tortilla polar bear, and arranging everything on the plate. 

Please Bring Balloons Snack

Ingredients

• flour tortilla
• grape tomatoes
• string cheese

1. Using a kid-friendly knife, cut out a polar bear shape from the tortilla. Place on plate.
2. Wash tomatoes and halve lengthwise. Arrange on plate, cut side down. 
3. Place 'strings' of string cheese from the tomato balloons to the polar bear. 

 

Blueberries for Sal is another story of an adventure involving a girl and a bear! 

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