This week, I read “The Legend of Papa Balloon” to my
kids for a bedtime story. The story
involves a land where the people are divided into four villages that each makes
their buildings from one building material, and of all things would you guess that is balloons . Each community only builds
with one color of balloon. There is a Red Village, Green Village, Blue Village
and a Purple Village in the story. Each
balloon village thinks there color is the best and its residents have their own
unique trait. Also each village believes its residents are superior to the
other villagers and no one really cooperates or communicates with one another.
One day a mysterious grandfatherly gentleman arrives to the
land and visits each of the villages. He
shows the villagers that they may have different ideas and routines but in the
overall scheme of life they really are not that unique from one another after all. Papa Balloon as the mysterious figure is
named by the children of the villages shows that when light passes through a
clear balloon you can see all of the colors of the villages together in a
rainbow that includes red, green, blue, and purple united together.
The book has a nice message for young children that you
should treat other people’s cultures, traditions, opinions and religions with tolerance and respect. It also cultivates the positive
concept of being inclusive of your neighbors even if they may be different from
you. It presents these weighty subjects
though in a fun and lighthearted manner that makes it easy for little ones to
grasp the topics presented in the book.
While I did not have a problem with this, a point some
parents may want to be cautious of is that the author treats the differences
between the villages from a spiritual or religious perspective. The villages all worship “the Light” and
believe that “the Light” is best observed through only the colored balloon
their village utilizes. I unfortunately have witnesses
some despicable behavior by residents in my community acting out in bigoted and
rude behavior against those who have differing religious views so I was pleased
to share this viewpoint of tolerance and understanding with my children. Also some people may be concerned that the
villagers worship “the Light” instead of referencing God, Yahweh, or
Allah. I understand that the author most
likely took this approach to avoid any bias of specific religious affiliation and present the
topic in a more spiritual approach which I respect. If you have concerns about
religion being included as an aspect of a children’s book storyline or the spiritual
nature of the villagers worshiping “the Light” you should read the book
yourself before sharing it with your children to make sure it meets your
approval.
I found the book to be a well drawn colorful story with some
nice teachable moments in it. Most importantly
my kids enjoyed me reading it to them.
If you are looking for some nice short stories that are nicely
illustrated to share with your kids at bedtime check out “The Legend of Papa Balloon”.
“The Legend of Papa
Balloon” published by Schiffer Publishing is written by C.R. McClure and
illustrated by Steven Kernen. It is a 40
page hardcover book with 30 vibrant illustrations. It will be available for purchase March 28,
2013 from Amazon.com and other retailers.
I received a complimentary advance e-book reviewer’s copy of “The
Legend of Papa Balloon” from the publisher. The opinions and thoughts in this
review are my own.
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