Where Do Balloons Go?

by Jamie Lee Curtis, Laura Cornell (Illustrator)

Haven't you ever wondered ...

Where do balloons go
when you let them go free?
It can happen by accident.
It happened to me.

Do they tango with airplanes?
Or cha-cha with birds?
Can plain balloons read
balloons printed with words?

When one little boy accidentally lets go of his balloon, his imagination takes him on its journey.

Jamie Lee Curtis's gentle and humorous exploration of the joys and perils of a balloon's life is whimsically brought to life by Laura Cornell's illustrations. From the best-selling author-illustrator team of Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day comes another delightful mystery about letting go.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Storytime, Poetry, Kids, Mystery

36 pages, Hardcover

First published August 29, 2000

About the author

Jamie Lee Curtis is a two-time Golden Globe-winning, BAFTA-winning, and Emmy-nominated American film actress and an author of children's books. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in many horror films early in her career such as Halloween (1978 film), The Fog, Prom Night (1980 film) and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that covers many genres. She has received an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Awards. Her 1998 book, Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day, made the best-seller list in The New York Times. She is married to actor Christopher Guest (Lord Haden-Guest) and, as the wife of a Lord, is titled Lady Haden-Guest, but she chooses not to use the title when in the United States.

Reviews

[Suzanne DeConto]

This book is a great way to address the issue of death with a small child. The author gives the balloons human attributes (vacationing, dancing, eating, making a family). The many suggestions about where balloons go when they fly away can help answer a child's question about where people go. It encourages them to use their imaginations, but never places the balloon in any negative situation. This assures the child that whoever has died is enjoying life somewhere else. Cute book!

[Cecilia Cava · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book.
I get emotional each time I read it. It's not really about where balloons go. It's a book to explain loss and grief. It's a good book for kids if they lose a loved one.

I'm pretty sure I bought this book before I had kids. I still have that copy and get it out to read to them every now and then.

[Jasmine Ariti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this one really gave me a surprise cry. A wonderful and moving metaphor.

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where Do Balloons Go?: An Uplifting Mystery is the whimsical tale of what happens to balloons when they slip out of a child’s grasp. The book, written by Jamie Lee Curtis, uses humor to illustrate the endless possibilities of a balloons whereabouts. The book features extremely colorful and captivating illustrations, utilizes rhyming and even includes interesting vocabulary to further stimulate learning. This book was our chosen read-aloud for our mentoring program this semester and our students were entranced with the book (their favorite part included a balloon party!) and giggled throughout the entire book. The text was easily accessible to all students and the inclusion of more challenging vocabulary kept our older students engaged as well. In addition, I really enjoyed the sentimentality of the book, it’s a great read no matter what the age.
Teaching ideas:
Divide students into groups and assign each group a set of pages in the book. Have students examine the hidden pop culture references in the book in order to teach allusion.
ELA CCSS-RL8.3, 8.4
Read the book aloud to students, then provide students with the book in a typed format. Have students analyze the rhyme scheme of the book and determine the purpose/effect behind the scheme.
ELA CCSS-RL6.5

[Rick · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the kids brought this home from the library. The story is odd and uninspired. The illustration is sloppy and difficult for kids to appreciate. Felt like a book that got published because only because of the celeb name as author.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would make a great introduction to a science lesson. Children could brainstorm what they think happens to balloons. The illustrations are extremely detailed and fun. The rhyming throughout the book makes the reading enjoyable and fun. My one issue with this story is about pollution. When balloons are let go and drift off, it becomes a risk for animals thinking the deflated balloon is food. Reading this story in my classroom I would make sure that students understand how dangerous balloon can be and the side effects they have when released into the sky.

Activities:
-Pollution: where does it go when we are done with it?
- Science: brainstorm and predict what happens to balloons in the sky. Find experiment or video that explains this process

[Cathie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am usually skeptical about actors who write books - and I was with this book too when I picked it up in the bookstore. But it is a lovely story especially when I saw an interview with Ms. Curtis who she said that she wrote the book to help her child understand about the death of a good friend. An abstract way to talk about death and heaven as a balloon floats away and we don't know where it went or what it is doing now.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this from the book app. Well, actually Jamie Lee Curtis read it to me while I played with the interactive elements of the book. I made balloon animals, did connect the dots, and created and performed an original play while enjoying this book. SOO COOL!!!!

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not as good as I thought it could be. Still a good starting point for children who lost a love one for any reason.

[Paige Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little boy wonders, “Where do balloons go?” as he sets his balloon free. The story lists all sorts of possibilities of what happens to balloons such as traveling in space, having a party together, or meeting up and having balloon families. The little boy continuously wonders but begins to understand that it is probably happier being free in the sky. The story never tells us what happens to balloons, rather tells the reader to enjoy their balloon while they have it.

Major themes in this book include being happy with what you have and being happy in the present.

I thought this book had an interesting underlying story. A boy wonders where his balloon goes when it is gone, but this can be a deeper meaning of death. No one truly knows what happens when you die, and it is a mystery everyone wonders about. I also thought the illustrations were very unique. Some of the pages had so much going on, but provided so much detail it could take hours just to look at it all. But the illustrations could also be a major distraction to children reading the story as well.

I would recommend this book, but only to children who are on the older side. This story can be a great introduction to a science class learning about balloons and air, or to a talk about death with a child. Overall, this book is exciting to read and a great conversation starter.

[Kim Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. This book is about a boy who narrates his questions and thought about where balloons go after they when someone lets them go free. He makes up all these possibilities for balloons to be doing whenever they are let go. He even starts to wonder what the balloons may feel like, high up in the sky. In the end, he discides this will always be a mystery, which is a beautiful way to keep readers imagination going. The pictures in the book are very detailed drawings of the boy's imaginations which support the text a lot.
II. A major theme in this book is wonder and the underlying theme would be imagination.
III. I give this book a 5-star rating because it's just a wonderful book that will be able to stimulate children to use their imagination.
IV. This would have been one of those books I would have absolutely loved to have read to me when I was younger. The effect of a book taking your mind off of everything is the best feeling to me.
V. I recommend this book to let children wonder off for a bit and make them use their imagination about the unknown. Sometimes books are just fantastic to get children's mind off of certain things and let them enjoy some fresh careless thought and I am sure this is a great book to do so with.

[Lindley Davis]

This book by Jamie Lee Curtis is narrative from a young boy's perspective as he questions what happens to balloons when you let them go. This book is full of great rhymes and colorful/imaginative illustrations as he imagines his balloons traveling to far off places and experiencing new things in the sky. I remember reading this book as a child so it brings back a lot of memories.

I can see myself using this book for speech therapy because of all the great questions it leads to and allows children to use their imagination and creativity to answer the questions and practice teaching problem solving. This book can also be used to teach imagination and explore feelings about loss and letting go.

[Virginia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure the point of this story is to help kids come to terms with things that at least seem tragic (we've all seen that kid crying because they accidentally let go of their balloon and remembered the agony of the first time that happened to us). However, the cynic in me knows the answer to this question is, into the ocean like all the other lost plastic out there. I really can't endorse this book.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I grabbed this book off the library shelf, I didn't notice that it was written by Jamie Lee Curtis. I actually thought it would be a more scientific children's book on atmosphere. It wasn't. It was just an adorable little story about a boy wondering where his balloon might travel to after it floats away. Having had a child lose a balloon and break-down, I love that this story sends the balloon on an adventure and makes the sadness of "letting go" of the balloon not as difficult.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My autistic son was hoping for a truthful and scientific account of what happens to balloons when they are lost. His suspension of disbelief was completely lost when he got to the page showing them in space. "But... there's no air in space." If you're looking for sweet, this is a great book. If you're looking for science, this isn't it.

[Bailey Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Picture Book)
This is one of my favorite picture books I’ve read so far! I can see many different ways to use this in the classroom. The illustrations make the book even better. I think adults would like this book just as much as children.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A children's picture/story book. Speculation in verse about what happens to balloons when they rise. Brightly illustrated. This is one of those books that make me wonder if it would have or could have been published if the author weren't famous. Hmmm.

[Braeden M · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Mom read this to me and I felt that all of my feeling drifted away with the balloons and that all the pictures where so pretty and beautiful. Also that i found it funny and cool when I was four or five.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved this one since it came out, but even 20 years later I still get a little choked up at the end, given the dedication. Curtis really is one of the few "celebrity" authors who consistently creates good books that are useful, intelligent...and fun.

[Sunni Berbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and creative take on a wondering about balloons that float away. Where do they go? Could read for fun. But then talk about where balloons do go. End up impacting environment. Need to be aware of what we put into environment and how that impacts it.

[Maegan Pistokache · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed looking at the illustrations in this book, I felt like I was trying to find something and I did every new place I looked around the page. It is a cute story, but if I were to read this book again it is to look at the illustrations.

[Miranda | BookishlyBrewed | · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to my son tonight and it was such a fun book! The illustrations are very colorful and exciting for a kid's eyes and the story was nice enough to hold your attention for the duration of the book. I'm sure we will revisit this one another time in the future!

[LaTanya Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining book about where balloons go after being let go into the air. Different scenarios are played out with colorful illustrations and pretty good story-telling. I would recommend this book to be read to Kindergarten and read to self 1st through 3rd graders.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five star poem; it was beautiful.

The illustrations were busy, too much so personally, and I did my best to ignore them after the first two pages or so.

Again, the poem was beautiful. I just disliked the pictures.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice rhyming story about where balloons might go if they are let go. The illustrations are very busy, so the simplicity of the words is nice.

[Alexis Fillmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story that helps kids use their imagination. Would be fun to do a project with and have kids make predictions.

[Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this might have had an environmental message or at least have an answer to the question the title asks. But, it had neither.

[Rahul A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Performed by Jake Gyllenhaal on Instagram. 25/03/2020.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Cute.

[Ammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girls really liked this one. 🎈