William Pène du Bois (1916–1993)
Author of The Twenty-One Balloons
About the Author
Image credit: Photo: John Phillips/Time & Life Pictures
Works by William Pène du Bois
The TWENTY - ONE (21) BALLOONS. 3 copies
A season to beware 3 copies
The Island in the Square 2 copies
Plains Hotel 1 copy
The 21 Baloons 1 copy
Lazy Tommy Pumpkinhead 1 copy
Associated Works
Writing books for boys and girls — Contributor, some editions — 5 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Pène du Bois, William
- Legal name
- Pène du Bois, William Sherman
- Birthdate
- 1916-05-09
- Date of death
- 1993-02-05
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
France - Birthplace
- Nutley, New Jersey, USA
- Place of death
- Nice, France
- Education
- Lycée Hoche, Versailles, France
Lycée de Nice - Occupations
- children's book author
journalist
illustrator - Relationships
- Tomes, Margot (cousin)
Pène du Bois, Guy (father) - Organizations
- Paris Review (founding editor)
Members
Discussions
Found: Children's book: hot air balloon stranded on island with gold in Name that Book (April 2021)
Reviews
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois
Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions.
This was an odd, whimsical short story. The plot was intriguing and kept me interested - although it wasn't overly exciting or adventurous as described. The cover of the edition I read was gorgeous. Simple and easy to read.
Enjoyable children's adventure tale about a man discovering a secret society. A bit like 'The Beach' or 'The Village' but without the darkness.
The story starts off quite similar to the movie 'Up!'. A 66 year old man decides to spend a year ballooning to get away from things. He's a retired schoolteacher and therefore really dislikes children. Since he is going to be up there for so long he designs the basket of the balloon to resemble a small house complete with balustrade all around like a porch.
Its funny and interesting, however it loses some suspense since it's told in flashback so you already know the ending.… (more)
The story starts off quite similar to the movie 'Up!'. A 66 year old man decides to spend a year ballooning to get away from things. He's a retired schoolteacher and therefore really dislikes children. Since he is going to be up there for so long he designs the basket of the balloon to resemble a small house complete with balustrade all around like a porch.
Its funny and interesting, however it loses some suspense since it's told in flashback so you already know the ending.… (more)
My!, how Newberry Winners have changed. I feel like the more modern ones are more for adults than children. This book was very much aimed at children and very fantastical. Not my favorite but much better than the "stories about children for adults" that win these days.
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Statistics
- Works
- 46
- Also by
- 21
- Members
- 6,006
- Popularity
- #4,100
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 76
- ISBNs
- 112
- Languages
- 3
- Touchstones
- 84