The+Twenty-One+Balloons



DuBois, W.P. (1947). //The Twenty-one Balloons.// New York, NY: Viking Press.

Plot Description:

 Professor William Waterman Sherman is discovered in the Atlantic Ocean clinging to what appears to be silk balloons and some wooden planks. As he is retrieved by the S.S. Cunningham and nursed back to health, it becomes clear that he has a great story to tell of the adventure that led him there, but will only tell it to the Western American Explorers’ Club in San Francisco. After his rescue, the story of the professor spreads nationwide exciting the whole country who can’t wait to hear the story of the mysterious balloon man who left three weeks ago on a quest to travel across the Pacific Ocean being carried by one balloon and ended up in the Atlantic with what appeared to be twenty. The President of the United States offers the presidential train to the Professor to enable him to recover while he makes a speedy return to San Francisco.

 Once the Professor is finally in front of the Western American Explorers’ Club he begins the tale of his four week adventure. Tired of teaching and being surrounded by children all the time, the Professor had set off on a trip in an air balloon with the intention of having a considerable amount of quiet time to himself. Unfortunately for the Professor, due to a freak accident, his solitary trip is cut short and he finds himself wrecked on the island of Krakatoa, home of an enormous active volcano. It is there where the Professors real adventures begin as he meets the impeccably dressed Mr. F who immediately takes the Professor on a very shaky tour of the island, beginning with the diamond mines.

 The professor learns that the diamond mines were discovered by Mr. M who was shipwrecked on the island eight years prior. Once Mr. M made his way back to his home of San Francisco he decided to share his discovery of the island and diamond mines with twenty families. The new inhabitants had a rough beginning on the island, but they realized they could solve their problems and live together peacefully if they created a “Gourmet Government.” Each family was assigned a letter of the alphabet, and was required to cook all the meals for one day a month on the Krakatoa twenty-day month calendar. The F family cooked French food, the C family cooked Chinese, the T family cooked Turkish, and so on. In addition to cooking this type of food, each family’s house was built to reflect the family’s cuisine. Mr. F lived in an extravagantly decorated home styled after the Petit Trianon in Versailles.

 In addition to fancy cuisine, the island inhabitants were also interested in inventions. The Krakatoans had created interesting inventions to improve the quality of their life on the island, such as beds that rise up out of the house to enable them to sleep under the stars, or tables that sink into the floor to make for easy clean up after their cooking day. The children had their own inventions as well, such as the “Airy-Go-Round” a merry-go-round made out of boats and hot air balloons. The families had even invented an escape plan made out of an enormous platform and 20 hot air balloons.

 It was not long after the Professor landed on the island that he saw the escape plan put to good use as the volcano erupted within the same week he arrived. Being without a parachute, once up in the air the Professor could not escape the platform like the others, it was up to him to try to land the enormous thing. This was what the professor had been attempting to do when he came crashing down into the Atlantic Ocean. It was here that the ship that rescued him found him and his story came to an end, but not without showing the crowd the diamond cufflinks the professor had managed to bring back with him from Krakatoa.

Personal Reflection: //The Twenty-One Balloons// is a fantastic book filled with fascinating adventures and inventions as well as incredible illustrations. The beginning part of the book with the recently discovered professor back from his adventure yet unwilling to immediately recount his story provides a great buildup for the reader and has you on the edge of your seat to finally hear the professor's tale. DuBois writes so descriptively, which is incredibly important when writing fantasy novels. These descriptions along with the author's own illustrations make this book a visually rich experience.

Genre: Fantasy, adventure

Reading Level: Ages 9 – 12

Awards: 1948 Newbery Medal Winner

Reviews: //Pittsburgh Post-Gazette// (2000, July 16). //The New York Times// (2006, May 14). <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//The New York Times Book Review// of //1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up//, of which //The Twenty-One Balloons// is included (2010, March 14). <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//NPR: All Things Considered// (2010, July 21). <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Character List: <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Professor William Waterman Sherman: Former professor of arithmetic for forty years at an all boys school. He is a member of the Western American Explorers’ Club in San Francisco who is particularly interested in balloon travel. Sets out on a giant balloon with the idea of spending much time by himself drifting over the Pacific Ocean.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Mr. F: He is an inhabitant of the island of Krakatoa, formerly from San Francisco. He was the first person to meet the Professor on the island and offered his home to him as a place to stay. His family cooks French food for the other Krakatoans.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Annotation: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Everyone is curious about the man found in the Atlantic Ocean with twenty balloons after setting off over the Pacific Ocean with one balloon three weeks prior. Having intended to have a private adventure floating above the Pacific Ocean in quiet solitude, Professor Sherman instead meets the interesting inhabitants of a tiny island, visits their diamond mines, learns about the society they have created, and is privy to the fantastic inventions they have created.