Define Books Toward The Twenty-One Balloons
| Original Title: | The Twenty-One Balloons |
| ISBN: | 0140320970 (ISBN13: 9780140320978) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | William Waterman Sherman, Mr. F |
| Setting: | Krakatoa(Indonesia) |
| Literary Awards: | Newbery Medal (1948) |
William Pène du Bois
Paperback | Pages: 180 pages Rating: 3.97 | 21232 Users | 1265 Reviews
Particularize About Books The Twenty-One Balloons
| Title | : | The Twenty-One Balloons |
| Author | : | William Pène du Bois |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 180 pages |
| Published | : | 1986 by Puffin (first published 1947) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Childrens. Fantasy. Classics. Adventure |
Commentary In Favor Of Books The Twenty-One Balloons
One month after graduating from college, I started working. That was in 1984. I am now in my 4th company and except for my paid vacation leaves and rare sick days, I have never been, even a single day, out of the corporate rate race.27 years of working and trying to earn a living.
I know it is still far from the 40 years of being a math teacher in some high school for Professor William Waterman Sherman but once in a while, I also feel that I need to do something outrageous. Maybe just to break the monotony of my corporate work life. Not necessarily riding an air balloon because it is pricey here in the Philippines. During the Summer Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark Pampanga, last time I heard, they offer a 30-min ride for P20,000 (~ US$450). I would not want my savings to go to waste, only for 30 mins! Professor Sherman had no family so he was able to afford two giant air (not hot air) balloons constructed to his taste after he retired at the age of 66. He left everything in San Francisco and embarked on the journey of going around the world via his giant air balloon via the Pacific Ocean.
I wish I could do something like that. At some point in our lives, burnout comes in and we just want to break free. Leave everything behind and do the things that we really enjoy. Oh well, maybe that’s part of the reason why I try to do something that other people say is impossible: reading books included in the 1001 list. Books bring us to places whose nature sometimes goes beyond our imagination. In books, we also meet people who we never thought existed and know situations that could make us feel more fortunate and blessed.
The Twenty-One Balloons won the Newberry Award in 1948. It is a sci-fi utopian children’s book by William Pene de Bois (1916-2993) an American-French illustrator and novelist. The writing is simple but its whimsical ingenuity is amazing. Some strange ideas look plausible like the Balloon Merry-Go-Round and I thought I would like to ride on it if the price will not be too prohibitive ha ha. The utopian kind of economic setup in Krakatoa is something that is possible too only if there is a diamond mine and families are not greedy enough to be disloyal to the island’s other family-inhabitants. Though the theme of loyalty permeates at least in a couple parts -the one I just mentioned and Sherman not obliging to persistent request to tell what happened to his voyage prior to his official interview in the explorers’ association where he is a member of good standing - of the story, overall, it is the dream of doing something totally new, e.g, drastic career shift?, at the latter part of one’s life that I consider my take-away from this wonderful book.
Rating About Books The Twenty-One Balloons
Ratings: 3.97 From 21232 Users | 1265 ReviewsNotice About Books The Twenty-One Balloons
Half of this story is true and the other half might very well have happened.Our story kicks off with the exciting discovery and rescue of a sophisticated professor named William Waterman Sherman, who is stranded in the North Atlantic amid the wreckage of twenty-one sadly deflated balloons. It's the first sighting of this adventurous professor since is departure from San Francisco three weeks earlier. But that day he'd floated off the pier in one large balloon, not twenty one. How did he come toMy guess is I was ten years old the first time I read this book, and I absolutely loved it. Fast forward to today, and the book still worked for me. It's an adventure story (can a retired old schoolteacher travel around the world in 40 days on a balloon and survive a huge volcanic eruption?), a treasure story (think bucketfuls of gigantic diamonds), and a story of science (exploring the Victorian obsession with ballooning, as well as other inventions such as electric wiring, in both realistic
Just a guess on the time I read it. It was definitely 5th grade. It was definitely the most memorable book I read during adolescence. I credit this book as the first book I really, truly, loved. The first book, gradually followed by many others, that made me realize reading could be fun. Sometimes it almost feels like it was the first book I completed, the first book I held in my memory, but as I go back I realize that isn't true. There were plenty books before, I'm sure, mainly of the Beverly
One month after graduating from college, I started working. That was in 1984. I am now in my 4th company and except for my paid vacation leaves and rare sick days, I have never been, even a single day, out of the corporate rate race. 27 years of working and trying to earn a living.I know it is still far from the 40 years of being a math teacher in some high school for Professor William Waterman Sherman but once in a while, I also feel that I need to do something outrageous. Maybe just to break
Flight of Fancy(A Book Review of William Pène du Boiss The Twenty-One Balloons)After busting a literary heavy I noticed that from time to time theres this feeling, an emerging need to clear the palate, to freshen up and clean the slate for another bout of serious reading. In occasions like this I always dig the rich fields of Childrens Literature on the look out for some fun and light book where I dont have to think much and just go along to the pull of the story wherever it will take me.Good
I read this for school years ago. I really enjoyed it, it's funny and just a really good book.
This is one of those classic children's books that adults can thoroughly enjoy, too! I'm very interested in hot air balloons at the moment, so it was fun to read a story that features them, explains how they work, and shows what it's like to fly in one. I also loved how the families on Krakatoa were depicted, alphabetically and with food from different countries, and oh so orderly. The story touches on educational yet simple and interesting explanations of economics, science, architecture,
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