Beautifully illustrated tour of DC and a fun introduction to the art at the National Gallery. ( )

So fun. There's so much to see! ( )

I thought this book was really different than most picture books that I have seen; therefore, I really liked it. I thought this was different than other wordless picture books was because it had a lot more detail in every single picture. Also there was not just one picture per page sometimes there were even three or four! I really liked it because it tells a story of a little girl, boy, and an adult going to throughout Washington, D.C. The book starts with the little girl with the balloon. It is also a funny book because the characters are traveling through the museums while the adult is trying to find and catch up with the balloon, since it was taken away from them. I think a teacher could teach a fun history lesson with this book, discussing vocabulary of what you can find at a museum and galleries, or even just in the Nation’s capital. The main idea of this book is to show the reader what he or she can find in a museum. Whether they find president statues, pictures, art, even the security of the museum, it really is an informative picture book. I thought this book was really cute and I even have used it to create a lesson plan for. ( )

Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser deliver another entertaining wordless picture-book in You Can't Take a Balloon Into the National Gallery, which follows the same little girl and grandmother who toured the Met in You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum. The family is in Washington, D.C., and although this time they have little brother in tow, and the balloon is red rather than yellow, the basic concept is the same. The girl and her grandmother tour the National Gallery, as her balloon makes its way around the capital, causing chaos as it is pursued by a growing number of frantic and highly disheveled citizens.

Children will pore over Glasser's detailed illustrations, enjoying the many humorous incidents depicted, while also learning a little bit about Washington, D.C. An informative afterword provides more information, both on the works of art that are shown, and on the many faces from American history that have been cleverly inserted into the crowd, at various points. I enjoyed this second effort from the Preiss sisters, finding it both educational and entertaining, although I didn't think it quite the equal of the first. Still, I look forward to the third and (to date) final installment, You Can't Take a Balloon into the Museum of Fine Arts. ( )

Jerry Pinkney's The Lion & the Mouse and Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser's You Can't Take a Balloon Into The National Gallery both guide readers into their own imagination with these wordless books. Pinkney's The Lion & the Mouse is based on Aesop's fable although Pinkney has created extraordinary illustrations that takes your breathe away. He's created pages that takes you into the African safari or a watercolor painting. Children of all reading levels will relish with this remake of a classic fable.

Weitzman and Glasser's You Can't Take a Balloon Into The National Gallery also takes readers to a real place: National Gallery of Art. Filled with pages of colorful illustrations and real life art pieces found around Washington DC, readers will laugh and smile while following the red balloon. Children will be introduced to the national monuments and landmarks of DC as well as learning about historical figures in American culture. This is an imaginative wordless book that all readers will enjoy.

Pinkney, J. (2009). The lion & the mouse. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Weitzman, J. & Glasser, R. (2000). You Can't Take a Balloon Into The National Gallery. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. ( )