Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet

Golden Kite Award for illustration 

Nonfiction biography 

This story was a biography about Tony Sarg and his involvement in the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades. It describes his innovative ways as a child and then as an adult how he was able to come up with solutions for not having real animals in the parade. The book ends with his balloon creations floating over the streets and the reader knowing how and why this happens every year. 


I would definitely use this in the classroom because it is informational on a topic/person that is fun and interesting to children. Based on the storytelling and subject matter, I personally would use this in younger elementary classrooms, such as K-2. I think this would be a great book to use around Thanksgiving time as students are working on themed projects, such as what they are thankful for or their Thanksgiving plans. This story could be used as an introduction to discussions over Thanksgiving as a holiday and why the Thanksgiving parade is important to people. On the other hand, this story could also be used in higher elementary science classes when doing experiments that require students to construct things in different ways. The story gives details about the materials Tony used, his thinking process, and how everything came together. This could influence students to think outside the box and come up with new ways to use regular objects like Tony did with puppets. 

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