The 21 Baloons

by William Pène du Bois

Winner of the Newbery Award

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Fantasy, Classics, Adventure, Young Adult, Middle Grade

Paperback

First published September 14, 1947

About the author

William Pène du Bois was an American writer and illustrator of books for young readers. He is best known for The Twenty-One Balloons, published in April 1947 by Viking Press, for which he won the 1948 Newbery Medal. As illustrator he was twice a runner-up for the Caldecott Medal.

The Twenty-One Balloons is the work by Pène du Bois that WorldCat reports most widely held in participating libraries, by a wide margin. His other most widely held works are five books written by others, which he illustrated (below), and the two Caldecott Honor picture books, which he also wrote.

From 1953 to 1960, Pène du Bois was art editor of The Paris Review, working alongside founder and editor George Plimpton.

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Riane · Rating 5 out of 5]

In hindsight, this book is the reason I’m a communist

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7⭐
Read this, oh so long ago. I still remember odd bits and pieces, especially the balloon house ( the inspiration for Disney's UP!, I've long speculated) and the escape from Krakatowa. Loved this as a kid.

[Katherine Cowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 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 and fantastical ways).

This is a quick read as it's targeted towards children/young adults. Written today it would likely be categorized as middle grade. The book uses a frame story--it's a story told to an audience who also becomes a character, and as such it manages to break the "show don't tell" rule, largely successfully. The first quarter of the book dragged a bit for me (I kept thinking, "get to the story already") but I think this was mostly because I listened to it as a book on CD.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not anticipating loving this book as much as I did! It reads like a classic, is lighthearted and entirely fun! Especially with how the pictures really illustrate some of the comical inventions and incidents.

A real treat that you and your family shouldn't miss!

Cleanliness:

Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 1 Incident: stupid
Name Calling - 1 Incident: stupid fool
Religious Profanities - 2 Incidents: Good Lord, great heavens

Romance Related - 2 Incidents: The word “sexes” is used - to mean gender. “Bizarre nude arrival on Krakatoa.”

Illustrations - 1 Incident: a lady with a low, revealing dress

Attitudes/Disobedience - 1 Incident: A man lies as he doesn’t want it known that he teaches.

Conversation Topics - 7 Incidents: A sick/weak man is given brandy. People try to entice a man with spirits. A man smokes a cigar. “Krakatoa was like riding on the back of some giant prehistoric animal.” “I remember twenty pops like champagne corks in rapid succession.” “Closer to a sensation of hell than anything we had ever experienced.” A Negro clown is mentioned.

Parent Takeaway
This story is full of adventure. A man sails off in a hot air balloon, gets caught in an ocean storm and finds himself marooned on an island peopled with rich inventors. While being shown their homes and latest achievements, the volcano on the island begins to erupt. Sure to engage younger kids too!

**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!

So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! You’ll see my updates as I’m reading and know which books I’m liking and what I’m not finishing and why. You’ll also be able to utilize my library for looking up titles to see whether the book you’re thinking about reading next has any objectionable content or not. From swear words, to romance, to bad attitudes (in children’s books), I cover it all!

[Apokripos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flight of Fancy
(A Book Review of William Pène du Bois’s The Twenty-One Balloons)

After busting a literary heavy I noticed that from time to time there’s 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 Children’s Literature on the look out for some fun and light book where I don’t have to think much and just go along to the pull of the story wherever it will take me.

Good thing I borrowed William Pène du Bois The Twenty-One Balloons from a friend, and judging from its whimsical opening line, it absolutely fits what I want to read at the moment:

"There are two kinds of travel. The usual way is to take the fastest imaginable conveyance along the shortest road. The other way is not to care particularly where you are going or how long it will take you, or whether you will get there or not. These two methods of travel are perhaps easiest to be seen by watching hunting hounds. One hound will follow his nose directly to his prey. Another will follow his nose in a roundabout way to molehills, empty rabbit holes, garbage cans, and trees; and perhaps not pay any attention to his prey even when he happens upon it. This second way of getting around has always been pointed out as the nicest for, as you can see in the case of the slower hunting hound, you are able to see more of what is going on in the world and also how nature is getting along."

William Waterman Sherman, the protagonist of the 1948 Newbery Medal-winning book, has been teaching arithmetic for boys for forty years in San Fransisco: “Forty years of spitballs. Forty years of glue on my seat.” So he retires at the age of 66 and decides to travel across the Pacific Ocean, be all alone for a year without any possible human contact, and fulfills his wistful longing by building an elaborate hot-air balloon built with accouterments he’ll all ever need. But as soon he discovers, being airborne produces other problems besides spitballs.

After some months he was fished out of the ocean on what appears to be the remains of a platform attached to twenty balloons. Just what happened to Professor Sherman on those intervening days and how did he get marooned on the wrong side of the Ocean with too many balloons? It’s an extravagant story that involves a seemingly deserted remote island and an erratic volcano, an amusing form of government and its interesting people, otherworldly yet functional contraptions, and riches beyond man’s dream wrapped up with elements of science-fiction, inventions, fantasy, survival and social commentary all come together in a book that moves from one astonishing plot to another that only Professor William Waterman Sherman can tell.

I thought I would be served up with another variation of a Jules Verne inspired tale ala Around the World in Eighty Days, what with a protagonist whose goal is to travel the world by a balloon, yet his journey is not to discover exotic lands but just a simple-minded desire to get away from the humdrum of living. However, as I was wrong in my initial presumption, so is Professor Sherman for the winds of fate do take him to strange shores, on the mysterious island of Krakatoa peopled by seemingly ordinary people yet with a society unlike our own, closely guarding a secret: the land surrounding the volcano of Krakatoa is teeming with diamonds!

As Profosser Sherman easily adapts on the way of life of the island’s settlers, along with being its permanent guest and his vow of silence concerning their limitless wealth, so are the readers get to see the life on Krakatoa with their Gourmet Government and their various inventions as silly it may sound it makes Krakatoans live a life of ease and comfort. As Du Bois pokes fun and amuses his young readers with the islanders’ unusual way of life, he likewise presents an ideal society, a Utopia where the residents work together and serve one another in attempt to make life on the island better and along with it manage to snatch some thematic glimpses on the subject of human greed in a community where money, in this case the precious gems, is basically rendered worthless — yes, they have loads of diamonds but on the island what can you possibly buy with it when almost everybody already has it?

Ultimately, in the end it seems to me that Du Bois’s belief of a good, if not perfect, life shares some similarities with Professor Sherman’s: something in between perfection can only exist in constant face of danger (characterized by the risky way of life on the foot of the constantly shaky volcanic grounds of Krakatoa), and the foolishness that exists in the safety of every day life — a life apart that, like a balloon in the air, goes wherever which way the wind takes you.

“It goes to show how wonderful ballooning can be. You can never tell where the wind will blow you, what fantastic good fortune they can lead you to. Long live balloons!”
—Professor Wiliam Waterman Sherman

_________________________
Book Details: Book #31 for 2011
Published by Viking Press.
(Hardcover, 1947 Re-issued Edition)
180 pages
Read on: August, 2 2011
My Rating: ★★★

[See this review on my book blog Dark Chest of Wonders and for many others.]

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming! I've seen this book around my whole life, because . . . well, it's an old Newbery winner. It never looked that interesting to me, just something I thought I might get around to eventually in my quest to read all the Newberies. A couple of months back I found a like new copy at the library sale for a quarter, so I thought, Hey why not?

Read it aloud to my kids, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The illustrations were perfect, since he goes into a lot of technical details about hot air balloons and various contraptions, and the detailed pictures and diagrams helped a great deal. The story was fun, and different, and very appealing (Hot air balloons! Volcanoes! Diamond mines! Government by restaurant!). Old-fashioned without being horribly outdated, basically.

[Left Coast Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one one of my favorites as a kid, one of those books that clued me in to the fact that the world was much larger than my little corner of it. It's like fetish porn for a ten-year-old, with exotic pacific islands, uncontrolled flight (you go where the wind blows you), secret caves, untold riches and earthshaking explosions. I need to dig this up and re-read it some day.

[Karina · Rating 2 out of 5]

"So now that you are here, you are automatically a citizen of Krakatoa. You own a share of the mines. If you could possibly spend the amount of money you are worth at the present cost of diamonds in other countries, you would have to spend a billion dollars a day for the rest of your life . . ." (PG. 73)

John Newbery Medal- YA- 1947

This was a weird read but somewhat enjoyable. Set in San Francisco in the year 1883, we meet Professor William Waterman Sherman. After forty years of teaching, sixty-six year-old Professor Sherman needs a break from life so what does one do when life is weighing one down? You build yourself a balloon home and float wherever the winds take you.

Sadly, by the seventh day the solitude and the luck of a seagull eating turkey carcass on top of his balloon led Sherman to land in Krakatao.

I am trying to be fair in rating this story as it is in the year 1947. It was a weird one to read. Krakatoa is an island Utopia with no rulers. Everyone is rich and equal and lends a hand to their strengths. Also, it is the perfect island for Nazi and eugenic believers. Everyone is white and rich and able to reproduce to be a valuable member of Krakatoa. I would have liked to see what would have happened if Sherman was Indigenous, Latino or Black and landed on this island. Even without this weird White Supremacist, possibly Communist, (it feels a bit Communist) story line I am thinking of the story itself. It was not really an adventure. His voyage was a bit boring.

I'd never heard of this book before, although it might be considered a classic, but only picked it up to continue my Newbery Winner challenge. Many of these books are either really boring or questionable. 21 Balloons seems like a political move for, probably, racist judges; a sign of the times. I don't see people of color reading this and thinking how great it is that white people have taken over an island... OH WAIT, BACK IT UP... that is history! Lol.... Okay, 1947 still in mind. After WWII, trying not to judge....

Read it and rate it for yourself . . . Would a book like this sway the younger generation into thinking a certain way? Do books create a sub-conscious way of looking at people?

[Jered · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm quite surprised this book was awarded a Newbery. It started off with a bit of enjoyable whimsy, quickly degenerated into a quagmire of mediocre fantasy, and grew steadily into a punishing crescendo of monotony. The last several chapters actually hurt. It felt something like reading an uninteresting and predictable list of inventory. Imagine slogging through a ship's cargo manifest. But not a cool ship...like a pirate's ...more like a freight load of something utterly unamazing...like bananas. Page after page of descriptions of the size, weight, and volume of crates of bananas. That's about how exciting this ridiculous story was. It's not at all the tale of high adventure it's purported to be.

[zahra haji · Rating 2 out of 5]

بعد قراءتي الكثير من الروايات الموجهة للأطفال والناشئة اعترف بأن هذه الرواية
..لم تبهرني كغيرها
تدور الرواية حول البروفيسور ويليام الذي يقرر الذهاب برحلة حول العالم بالمنطاد
على أن يغيب حوالي العام .. إلا أنه يواجهه أمورا تغير رحلته وتوقيتها وحتى نهايتها
حيث يهبط في جزيرة كراكاتوا ويقرر مضيفه بقاءه معهم إلى الأبد حتى لا ينقل
ما شاهده للعالم ... يعيش معهم يتعرف على طريقة عيشهم وكنزا من الألماس حتى
..انفجار الجزيرة ومحاولة الخروج منها

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly Creative

I very much enjoyed “Twenty-One Balloons”. I selected this book because it is a classic and was not disappointed.

A fast paced read with a generous number of illustrations. Great characters and lots of creativity make this a fun book.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Retro Book Review
The Twenty-One Balloons
By William Pène du Bois

I am a creature of habit. I order the same thing every time I go to a restaurant, I stick to a routine, and my favorites are my favorites. Many of the books I fell in love with as a child are, to this day, still my favorites. I was once told by a colleague that many of the books I enjoy are “crusty”. I believe a great book never goes out of style; it becomes a classic that can stand the test of time.
Although The Twenty-One Balloons is an old classic, it is new to me. Maybe it was the balloon on the cover that reminded me of my hometown summer festival; Maybe it was the giant diamond on the front (diamonds are a girl’s best friend). Whatever it was, this book kept drawing me in. I finally got around to reading it and I’m so glad I did.
My students had just read a piece on deadly volcanos and were very fascinated by the volcano at Krakatau that completely blew away an island and caused tsunamis in distant villages. They asked great questions like: “What if this happened today?” or “I wonder what it would have been like to live there?” It was a total coincidence that I happened to pick up The Twenty-One Balloons that very week.
William Pène du Bois paints a picture of what could have happened that fateful year at Krakatau. Professor Sherman is attempting to travel around the world in his hydrogen balloon. Very early in his trip, he runs in to trouble and finds himself washed up on an unknown beach. He awakes and is greeted by a man in a very fancy suit, which is odd since he seems to be surrounded by beach and jungle. He is no sooner swept away to the middle of that jungle where is introduced to a whole village of families living in a self-created utopian society. We learn that the village is supported by the abundant supplies of diamonds that lie in the caverns below the ground. The islanders keep the jungle thick around them so they can live in secrecy and never be discovered by passing ships. Everything is perfect. The only down-side to living on the island is the occasional volcanic rumble, but the inhabitants have learned to live with it and go about their daily lives. They even have a perfect plan should the “big” eruption ever come.
History gives us the facts about the island; the “big” eruption does come. Professor Sherman goes on to tell his story, but does anyone believe him when all the evidence has been blown away?
I found myself completely lost in this book. I wanted to be on that island. My willing suspension of disbelief was present and it felt like it could be real. I wanted to talk to Professor Sherman. I was so anxious to share the book with my class and discuss the possibilities. It’s a great classroom read-aloud.
The Twenty-One Balloons is now on my list of all-time favorites. It’s a classic that has stood the test of time. It will, and should be, enjoyed by many readers to come.
Sarah Jones is a fifth grade- Language Arts and Social Studies teacher. She lives in Battle Creek, Michigan with her husband and two children. She is passionate about reading and developing children into lifelong readers.

[Book Concierge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook performed by John McDonough
4****

This is a classic of children’s literature, for which du Bois was awarded the Newbery Medal. It’s a fantastical adventure story featuring Professor William Waterman Sherman, who leaves San Francisco on Aug 15, 1883, in a balloon, with the intention of going across the Pacific Ocean and enjoying some solitude. Three weeks later he’s picked up in the Atlantic Ocean clinging to wreckage. Once rescued he insists on being transported to San Francisco where he will tell his tale – once and only once – to the Western American Explorer’s Club.

What a fun story! Professor Sherman, despite his apparent forethought and preparation for any eventuality, still manages to run afoul of several unanticipated problems … from seagulls to sharks to volcanoes. His time spent on Krakatoa is extraordinary and hard to believe; even in his telling of it, Professor Sherman seems amazed and incredulous.

The illustrations (also by du Bois) help by providing a visual representation to go along with some of the detailed descriptions of the various inventions. I think parents and teachers would have a great time allowing children to explore their imaginations, while explaining the realities of science. But I WOULD like that bed with endless clean sheets! (And having already cut and polished diamonds handily about would be pretty nice as well…)

John McDonough does a marvelous job of reading the audio version. His dramatic performance lends a sense of awe, amazement, excitement, and danger as the scenes require.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Sherman is sick of teaching mathematics to unruly children in San Francisco, so he decides to take a year-long balloon ride around the world and never touch land in all that time. However, within days his balloon crashes near the mysterious island of Krakatoa, and he discovers the secrets of the island where a most unusual society is flourishing and fabulous diamonds are available to anyone.

This is such a fun and entertaining story! The plot has all these hilarious details all about the reception for Professor Sherman when he returns to San Francisco, his arrangements for his balloon house and how he planned his balloon trip, and the strange society that lives on Krakatoa and how they organize their days. Most of the narrative is explaining things, so there isn't a ton of action, but the descriptions are so wild and interesting that you never feel bored.

The writing style is really excellent, drawing the reader in with all these funny anecdotal episodes and details. The writing is vivid and concise. I really enjoyed it, and could barely put the book down!

I think one of the funniest things in the book is that Professor Sherman tries to hide that he is a math teacher from the Krakatoans. He doesn't want to be forced back into teaching after he has finally retired! As a teacher myself, I can understand. haha!

This book is such a delight to read. If you need something short and light-hearted and fun, this is the book for you!

[Ashley Ziemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Pene du Bois' book is categorized as a young adult book, though it can easily become a beloved story for all ages. Though this book was originally written in the 1940s, it is a timeless classic. Winner of the Newbery Medal, this story can truly be read over and over again and still maintain the excitement. I found this story completely engaging from the beginning. The characters are unique and quirky with something to hide-making the story a fun and thrilling read. The civilization as well as the island seem to have appeared out of nowhere and the mystery of it all kept me reading to find out the secrets of the island and it's inhabitants.

I read this book as a younger teen and absolutely loved it. Being so, I decided to share it with my fifth grade class last year. We were reading nonfiction information about the real island of Krakatoa and this book fit into comparing the fiction story to the nonfiction information. The kids really enjoyed the outrageously hilarious events that occurred in the book. I highly recommend this book to readers of fantasy and adventure. It is a great read.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every once in awhile a book surprises me.

After the horror of Poe’s hot air balloon stories, I’m extremely hesitant about anything having to do with hot air balloons. Fortunately for me, this book was nothing like Poe’s nightmare stories and was actually quite entertaining. When it comes to the Newbery list, I’m especially thrilled when I come across a book that I enjoy.

William Sherman is a retired school teacher. He loves his quiet time and he has a burning fascination with balloons. He concocts an impressive balloon that he hopes will take him on a long journey. Unfortunately once he gets going he runs into disaster and lands on an island called Krakatoa.

Krakatoa is an island inhabited by a group of eccentric people who are infinitely rich because of a diamond mine. My favorite part of the story was the creativity of the island. There are twenty families on the island. Each one has a house that is in the style of a different country. They also make dinner based on dishes from those countries and serve dinner one night a month. I thought it was fun to learn about the different houses and the creative bits on the island.

Highly enjoyable and fun!

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great family readaloud.

[Saranya ⋆☕︎ ˖ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though this is a 'children's book', this was amazing!!!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written, fanciful tale for children. It has been a long time since I read a book for youth, and I enjoyed the break from my normal reading.
This story reminds me of a Jules Verne novel (and since Around the World in 80 Days was mentioned, I think that was the idea). Some of the things that happen and descriptions were far-fetched but enjoyable. As a kid, I would have lapped it up.
It also introduced the historical event of the Katakata volcano eruption.

If you enjoy youth fiction that is well written, grab a copy of this story.

Content notes: Some things are scientifically incorrect, there is also a brief mention of a man being without clothes. It was done in passing because of an accident and easy to skip or miss. No crude comments or descriptions are made regarding it.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 Cleary type, Romona Beezus stories, which I know I was amused by, but I wasn't DRAWN to them. Before the 21 Balloons, and the Tripods Trilogy after that, I would almost rather be doing anything else besides reading. Reading was boring; reading was a chore. Reading was what you did when you couldn't come up with anything else to do. All that started to change in 6th grade when I had to read "The White Mountains" for class. And "The 21 Balloons" was the hint before that, that my feelings about reading would change.

This is a most delightful story, about Professor William Waterman Sherman (for a brief time W. W. Sherman was my alter ego when I began to write myself) and his adventures on the island and community of Krakatoa, which he discovers after his own hot-air balloon crash lands there.
On Krakatoa, there is a small utopia-like society, of families (named by letters of the alphabet!) who surround themselves in all manner of nifty inventions. They live a peaceful idyllic life, made possible by the secret of the diamond mines of Krakatoa. But alas, Krakatoa houses a dormant volcano, and you can probably guess that the volcano does not play nice for the entire story.

This book sits atop the pyramid of all my other favorite books. And William Pene Dubois was the recipient of my first (and not my last) fan letter. I adore this book.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Newbery Medal Winner--1948

I thought I might like this adventure story, as I love the idea of traveling around the world in a balloon. This one started out promising, with a man found at sea who had been travelling around in a small house kept aloft by a giant balloon (it reminded me of the movie Up.

Unfortunately, it was less adventure story and more fantastical--much of the book is just Professor Sherman describing life on Krakatoa, where he crash landed. So instead of exciting adventures, we get pages of description and explanation for why/how these people live on a volcano. Basically, a group of former San Franciscans built a bunch of restaurants there, renamed themselves letters of the alphabet, and lived an idyllic life with no crime, jobs, school, etc. Oh...and they somehow made amazing inventions like beds that re-sheet themselves, tables and chairs that rise from the floor, and houses built on diamonds so they never move when the dormant volcano rumbles. Oh, and giant balloon-machines...one of which can carry 80 people if the volcano ever explodes.

It just seemed silly and boring and really wasn't my thing.

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale that is timeless and enchanting for humans of all ages, The Twenty-One Balloons is a work of fiction based on an island volcano that was the location of a true historic explosion. I re-read the story because it had been years since I'd read this aloud to children, and it is one of my all time favorites.

When the island volcano actually erupted in 1883, the explosion hurtled debris over 11 cubic miles into the air, and the shock waves circled the globe 7 times. Within 2 weeks, the layers of gases filtered the amount of sunlight reaching earth, and the atmospheric effects were felt all around Asia and Europe for the next five years. Krakatoa was rated a 6 on the VEI. The force of the blast was rated at 200 megatons, which was about 100 times larger than the blast of the bomb over Hiroshima.

An event so inspiring definitely was a catalyst for an inspiring tale. I highly recommend this book, if you've not read it yet.

[Johanna Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stefan's review: I really liked this. The volcano erupting was my favorite part. When he crashed is also a fun part.There were diamonds in the mountain.

[Eliza Noel]

The kids loved it! I was bored for the first 60+ pages. They felt wordy.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 books. I had a hard time with this book. I started off really enjoying it—it was so mock-serious and hilarious. The Professor was brilliant but also hilarious. But I had a really hard time with the settlement on Krakatoa. I just read a book about it and I was just really bugged by the author’s taking a real island and turning it into this fantastical, unrealistic place. I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if it hadn’t been for my reading that other (realistic) book about the island. I was also a bit annoyed by a couple things—the professor’s landing on the island naked, the lengthy balloon details which went over my head, and an image of a woman in a low-necked dress. I may try this book again in the future, but I just couldn’t appreciate it right now, humorous as it was.

A Favourite Humorous Quote: “The underbrush was thick and wild, quite similar to the untouched jungle life found on any Pacific island. My host walked through this in a most peculiar way. He was holding up his pantlegs and gingerly picking the right spots on which to rest his feet so as not to disturb the creases in his suit. My suit being a borrowed one, I felt that I had to treat it with equal care. We must have made a funny sight: two gentlemen in white suits and white bowlers tiptoeing through the jungle.”

[Kelsey Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

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, geography, and cultural studies. And history! The eruption of Krakatoa really happened. Thus this book could be the jumping-off point for a myriad of different studies. But above all, it's just plain entertaining.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, the science checks out so I'm pretty sure this book is actually autobiographical.

Lots of fun and while it's quirky; it doesn't feel Roald Dahl level quirky, just a right amount for a funny, lighthearted, adventurous, jaunt type of a story.

[Danessa Horst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun reread that brought back memories of my first reading when I was 7 or 8.

[Sarah Schrecengost · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for school years ago. I really enjoyed it, it's funny and just a really good book.