Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm

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 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 show more 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

What a fun, whimsical story Jerdine Nolen has written, about old Harvey Potter who grows balloons instead of crops. I think Mark Buehner's illustrations are really the star of this book, though - the rich, saturated colors really catch the eye.

i have always loved Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm since I was a child. The main message of creativity and having differences shines through so beautifully throughout all of the pages. This book helps to teach children that it is okay to be different and have your own way of doing things. People will still love what you do, even if it is not normal. One of the main reasons why this is such an excellent children's book is because of the illustrations. The brightly colored balloons in all shades of reds, and blues, and purples, mixed with the realistic yet still perfectly cartoon-y people helps to bring the reader even deeper into the book. Also, the dialogue in the book makes it an especially entertaining read. The southern accent comes show more through in the changing of words like "old" into "ole" and the dropping of the -g in words like "pleasin'" and "yellin'". Overall, I think this is an excellent picture book with a great, relatable message for all of the students who pick it up. show less

Balloons don’t grow in a farm! Or do they? Harvey Potter’s farm is like no other, his crop is a bunch of balloons! This story is a wonderful, magical representation of why it is okay to be different. Don’t like growing corn? That’s mighty fine, you can grow balloons. The balloons don’t represent just balloons. They represent what it means to be different.

Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: Primary

Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm is a tall tale written in the first person perspective of a young African American girl from the rural South. As she gets to know Harvey Potter, she relishes in the fact that he "just let a person be" which appears to be a common thread in this tale. The conflict in the story arises when a fellow local farmer calls the government on Harvey Potter in order to shut him down. Apparently, he is the only person in the story who doesn't 'let a person be' because the town is overjoyed when the government approves of Mr. Potters farm. The book is beautifully illustrated and will hold a child's attention easily. In the end, she has been endowed with the power to grow her own balloon farm and the magic of the land show more continues. The story magnifies the need to accept others even if they seem strange or different than you because you never know when or from where something wonderful will come. show less

I liked this book for several reasons. First, the language was descriptive, and enjoyable. For example, when describing the ballon color the author stated, "Pleasin' Purple, Orange-Ray Sun, Yellin' Yellow, Rip-TwoShot Red, and Jelly-Bean Black." The author does an excellent job of describing the balloons in order to engage students and have them really imagine the story. Second, the point of view the story was told in was different and relatable. The story was told from a young girl who spied on the old man who planted balloon animals. It gives the character a way to look at a story from a different point of view. The main idea of this story is to be different. The farmer is different because he grows balloon animals on his farm, and show more all of the community appreciates the balloon animals. show less

In my opinion Balloon Farm is a really good book. I liked Balloon farm because the farmer doesn’t grow the typical crops like corn and tomatoes, he grows balloons. I really liked how bright and vivid the illustrations were. On each page, there were hundreds of balloons, each a different color and different shape and the colors were so vivid that when I opened the book my eyes went directly to the balloons.
The big idea of the story is to do what makes you happy and not buckle under the pressures of society. Just as Harvey Potter did in the book, when people wondered why he grew balloons and when they questioned him, he just simply did what made him happy which was growing balloons.