You Can't Take a Balloon into the National Gallery by Robin Glasser

An educational afterword gives more information about those works, as well as the famous Boston figures incorporated into the illustrations. The detailed illustrations from Glasser - who contributed her artwork to the Fancy Nancy books - are more than equal to carrying the story, creating humorously chaotic scenes that correspond to the artwork being depicted. Once again the Preiss sisters deliver an engaging wordless picture-book, sure to entertain as it educates. This time it's Boston's Museum of Fine Arts being visited, and as the girl, her younger brother, and her grandfather examine the museum's many treasures, grandmother chases over Boston in pursuit of a renegade green balloon. The books are very enjoyable.įollowing upon You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum and You Can't Take a Balloon into the National Gallery, this third city/museum adventure from Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser follows the same young girl, whose love of balloons inevitably leads to a humorously catastrophic pursuit. I wish there had been more than three of these “You Can’t Take a Balloon into” books. Thirty-three past and present legends of Boston are drawn into the illustrations, and at the end of the book their “faces from history” are listed with dates of birth/death if applicable, noted which page in the book they’ve appeared, and a short synopsis of why they’re important is included too. This book is designed to introduce kids to some art and also tries to teach about Bostonian history.

The art, using both color and black and white, is inventive and interesting. The use of the illustrations to tell the story is a lot of fun. The story is a riot and at the end of this one the girl (once again) gets back her balloon and her brother also gets a prized item that comes back with the balloon. This time it’s the grandmother off after the balloon around Boston and the grandfather who accompanies his granddaughter and grandson through the museum. I’m happy to have read the three that have been illustrated/written. I just found them and had incorrectly assumed that they were fairly new books. I was hoping for more cities/museums in future books. I feel sad about that because I suspect this third book is also the last book. I just realized how old these “You Can’t Take a Balloon into” books are.

You Can't Take a Balloon into the National Gallery by Robin Glasser