Albert Lamorisse (1922–1970)

I really liked The Red Balloon. First, the book has pictures that were taken during filming, so instead of illustrations the book has photographs that depict what is going on in the story. The photographs fit the style of writing. The writing is a chronological story of a boy and his friend which is a balloon so they capture each scene of the story. Secondly, the writing is engaging and well organized. It's a very unusual story which is engaging in itself. At one point in the story his mom releases the balloon out the window but it stays put it doesn't float away. Readers will find this interesting because in real life that's not possible. The writing is organized because it has a clear rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Finally, the book pushes readers to think differently. Most children reading this book wouldn't think about someones best friend as being a balloon. This widens their detention of what a best friend is or what can be important to someone. There are boys that are mean to the boy Pascal but he never lets them get to him and it teaches children to not let bullies get you down, but just to be yourself.… (altro)