“Balloons, Balloons, Balloons” tells the story of a town of bunnies that mysteriously becomes blanketed in balloons. At first, the balloons are greeted with delight. But as the balloons filter into the streets, pools, and office buildings, we see shopkeepers and streetsweepers frowning as they try to maintain order. Meanwhile children continue to play happily with the balloons on the bus, in the pool, and at school. The various reactions the bunnies have make you think about how you define having too much of a good thing.
The book is filled with fantastical two-page spreads depicting hundreds of balloons floating marvelously around the town.
The poetry is bubbly and quick with colorful rhymes and alliteration:
“A yum yummy yellow one
A plum plummy purple one
A green like a turtle one
Balloons balloons balloons”
The pace of the verses quickens as the townspeople (townsbunnies?) get more and more overwhelmed by the balloons that have descended upon the town. At times, the text is almost too fast-paced given how much detail there is in the pictures. I found myself reading quickly to convey the sense of silliness, which meant that I was ignoring all of the little vignettes within the pictures. So we slowed down and expired each page more deeply, pointing out balloons of various colors, changing the feel of the story completely.
I’d never heard of Lillegard before stumbling across this book at the library, so it’s a particularly satisfying find. Z loved it and kept bringing it to me saying “Balloo, balloo, balloo! Read! Plummy!”
