My Yellow Balloon

Tiffany Papageorge’s "My Yellow Balloon" tells the story of a boy named Joey and the balloon he brings home from a carnival. Joey loves his yellow balloon and takes it with him everywhere, until one day it floats away into the sky and is lost forever. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Erwin Madrid, the book discusses the stages of grief a child might feel at a loss-- including anger, confusion, and deep sadness.

It’s a difficult task to delve into the topic of loss in a picture book without making it too heavy for children. Papageorge chooses to do this by not including a death in her story, but rather having Joey experience the stages of grief over the loss of his balloon. Adults will likely find Joey's long-term show more devastation over a latex balloon--which in the real world would have deflated long before he lost it-- illogical and bizarre, and certainly a poor comparison to the permanent loss of a loved one. However, the story provides a framework for a discussion on the serious emotions of grief a child might be feeling over any number of things, and can help him or her feel validated. The simplicity of Joey's loss allows him to be relatable to any child who is experiencing similar emotions, including those hurting over the loss of friends due to a move, those angry over a shift in family dynamics after divorce, or those feeling sadness for the loss of a beloved toy. show less

I found the illustrations of this book to be beautiful, which helps to make up for the story. I realize that this book was written for younger children (early elementary school age) but I still found the boy's attachment to the balloon over the top. He takes the balloon with him everywhere and the balloon never deflates. One day the balloon breaks loose and just floats away in the sky, and the boy is HEARTBROKEN. I'm thinking, just get the heck over it.

The boy mopes around for at least a couple of seasons (which is evinced by the illustrations showing the passage of time) I know that children can feel really sad over losing a favorite toy or possession, but the boy's love for his balloon was just overmuch. He would rather mope for his show more balloon than play with his friends. The book ends happily, much to my relief, but I still think the author could have presented the story in a better way. As I said before, the illustrations are beautiful, and they really are very nicely/professionally done.

I realize that this story is meant to be a metaphor for dealing with loss and grief - I will admit that I did not 'get' this right away. Nonetheless, I felt that the use of a yellow balloon was not the best metaphor for dealing with such a serious subject. show less

Received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

I was very impressed with this book. The presentation of the book is absolutely beautiful. The illustrations are gorgeous and cleverly incorporated with the plotline. I especially appreciated how the colors turned dull during the child's grief, an accurate visual expression of what loss feels like.

The writing is also well-done and captivating. It describes loss in a way that a child can relate to and understand, and it comforts by showing how grief will eventually fade.

First off, the hardcover book itself is nice. Thick, glossy pages make a nice feel in your hands as your read.

The first pages are full of color with a happy feel. The way to balloon flies away was surprising and the pages after are now less full of the illustrations and they're muddier in color. Until the very end when Joey realized that just because his balloon is gone, doesn't mean he can't be happy remembering the good times they shared.

"Then one day. In one second. Everything changed."

Death can be that fast and reading about Joey and his struggles after his balloon flew away brought tears to my eyes. The stages of grief are illustrated as well as the feelings of "sad most of the time", "a lot of the time", and "some of the time". show more Until a trip to the park . . .

"Once more. In one second. Everything changed."

Tiffany has taken a hard subject and simplified it just enough. Along with Erwin's illustrations, this is a book deserving a spot in our school and home libraries. show less

"My Yellow Balloon" was a gorgeous children's book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The author did an excellent job of putting a tough and difficult subject in an easy-to-understand, sweet way for children. I also could not stop admiring the illustrations- A+ on the art! The only thing I noticed was that some of the writing was a bit wordy or phrased too complex so that it wasn't a smooth reading (but that might just be my personal opinion). Otherwise, I give it a five stars because it was done very well through plot, pictures, and characters!

This was a beautiful children's book with gorgeous pictures that deals with loss and grief. The concept is a hard one to cover with children, especially little ones so this is one of those good introductory books to start off with although I noticed the feeling of guilt wasn't covered within the book like I think it should be.

The writing was simple and clear but altogether it wasn't the story that really made this book. Instead the majority of this book could be told by the pictures from when the world went from colored to grayscale while slowly introducing colors back into the life of a child.

Again due to the content material I think it was a noteworthy book for trying to reach out to children on a level they could understand. There show more were bits and pieces that didn't quite make sense to me as an adult but it doesn't take away from the book.

**Received this book as part of the Early Reviewers at Librarything.com for free in exchange for a review** show less

What a beautiful book. Erwin Madrid's illustrations are incredible. Tiffany Papageorge tells a story of love and loss that will teach any child how to deal with loss. Most children can relate to the feeling of losing a balloon, so it is very relatable. I love how the color fades away after the balloon disappears, but slowly comes back as Joey slowly stops being sad as much. Beautifully written and illustrated!