Jerdine Nolen

Narrated by a young African-American girl living in the rural American South, this original tall tale relates the story of Harvey Potter, an unassuming farmer who raises crop after crop of brightly-colored balloons. The girl befriends Harvey, who is the kind of man who lets "a person be," and the two enjoy calm afternoons on his porch. Curious about his unusual crop, which an ornery neighbor had reported to the government once, the girl spies on Harvey late one night, and discovers his show more method for raising balloons. Eventually, aided by this unusual friend and his balloons, the girl sets off into the world, becoming a balloon farmer herself...

I wasn't sure quite what to expect when I picked up Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm. I hadn't read anything by author Jerdine Nolen before, although illustrator Mark Buehner was known to me for the Snowmen at Night picture-books that he created with his wife. How happy I am that I gave it a chance! The story is told with a slight Southern dialect that feels authentic - Nolen grew up in Mississippi - and is immensely appealing. I enjoyed the matter-of-factly magical goings on, which reminded me a bit of the work of Chris Van Allsburg, and appreciated the fact that the friendship between the girl and Harvey crosses racial lines, but that this is never commented upon. It feels natural, just like everything else in the story. The artwork was colorful and expressive, capturing the sense of magic and fun in the tale. The nighttime scenes were particularly well done, playing with light in wonderful ways. All in all, a lovely book, one I would recommend to anyone looking for entertaining works of picture-book fantasy, or children's stories set in the South. show less

On the one hand, this is such a cool book — and one that young people need to know about — the Overland trail was full of non-white faces, and there are so many stories that just get left behind, shelved under slavery. History is complex and I’m so glad this book is in the world. Loved the tenderness of Hope’s family, even in desperately hard circumstances. On the other hand, perhaps a little too realistic in that Nolan captures the monotony of the journey a little too well. It’s show more got the slow pace that diaries of the time often have. I loved that about this book, but I’m not sure how many middle grade kids will. show less

I admire this tremendously. We absolutely need a tall-tale folk hero for African-Americans besides John Henry, and Nolen created one that feels as if it's existed all along, only just now brought to light. And brought to life by Nelson's amazing art.

I kept remembering the classic [b:The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales|292250|The People Could Fly American Black Folktales|Virginia show more Hamilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173462229l/292250._SX50_.jpg|2451299] by one of the founding queens of modern literature for African-American children, [a:Virginia Hamilton|24588|Virginia Hamilton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1237687938p2/24588.jpg].

This is formatted like a picture-book, and of course illustrated as completely as one, but it's not for the littlest children. I'm not sure, but I don't think a child under age 8 or so would be ready for it. That age or older, though, yes, it certainly does raise topics for conversation. Ask your child why good things would happen on the plantation, things that would help the master, and then bad things, over and over? And ask them what they thought happened on Plenty Plantation after Jabe moved on.... show less

Another original tall tale, written to fill in the gaps as our oldest creations have been all white men. I loved Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan when I was a kid, but especially I loved the chapters that included Lightfoot Sue and Babe the Blue Ox... those characters showed more diversity to me.

Rose is special not just because she's first-generation free Black, not just because she's a cowhand, not just because she works with metal, but because she uses her strength, courage, intelligence, and show more heart to solve the crises without violence, with the goals of increased harmony.

Bonus, the author uses fabulous vocabulary words. I remember reading William Steig when I was a child and just loving the opportunity to learn new words and ideas.

If you're a parent or other educator, this is a book to read to littles for the adventure and the glorious artwork, and to encourage older children to read additionally for themes and language. show less