The Balloon Tree by Phoebe Gilman

image from: http://www.phoebegilman.com/balloon.html

The Balloon Tree by Phoebe Gilman

Published by Firefly Books: 1997

Picture Book

Summary:

Leora is a young princess who lives with her father, the king, and has a love for balloons. Leora’s father leaves on a trip leaving her in the care of her uncle the archduke. Should anything go wrong she is to release balloons into the sky so that wherever the king is her will see them and come home to her. Soon after the king leaves the archduke tries to take over the kingdom and orders that all balloons in the kingdom are to be destroyed and locks Princess Leora in her room. Once Princess Leora escapes she finds a balloon and plants it using a spell in hopes it will grow into a balloon tree. Magically over night the tree sprout producing more balloons than could be ever imagined. The king seeing these balloons, returns home to save his daughter and his kingdom from the archduke.

Response:

This has been my favourite story every since I was a young girl. I love the fairy tale format and the fact that the girl is the heroine who saves the day rather than the typical male character. A second characteristic I enjoyed was that the main character, and hero, is a child. As a young reader this is something that really appealed to me. Aside from the actual story I find the illustrations (also by Phoebe Gilman) to be absolutely gorgeous. The images are very intricate and detailed and will enthral the reader.

For the Reader:

This is a wonderful story, but one I feel would definitely be more appealing for young girls (especially those who think they are princesses!), rather than boys.

One a side note Phoebe Gilman incorporates her own family into her illustrations. See below for more details!

From: http://www.phoebegilman.com/balloon.html

“My husband, Brian is the king. And yes, he does wear glasses. My older daughter, Ingrid, (whose balloon started it all,) appears on the second page wearing a blue dress. My daughter, Melissa posed as Princess Leora when she was seven years old. Their cousin, Alexis appears on that same page wearing a green dress. The evil Archduke is modeled after a person in a painting by Jan van Eyck. His name was Arnolfini.”