BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY: 

THE TRUE STORY OF THE PUPPETEER OF MACY'S PARADE

By Melissa Sweet

1. Bibliography
Sweet, Melissa. BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY: THE TRUE STORY OF THE PUPPETEER OF MACY'S PARADE. Boston. MA: Houghton Mifflin for Children. 2011. Print. ISBN: 9780547199450

2. Plot Summary
BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY is about the true story of Tony Sarg and his life as a puppeteer. Sweet begins the story with Tony's fascination to make things move. We then learn that Macy's department store wanted Sarg to design a window display for the store. As the holidays approached, Macy's asked Sarg to help with the parade. The reader will learn in the book that Sarg had to make several adjustments to his marionettes as the parade grew in popularity.

3. Critical Analysis
At the beginning of the book, Sweet quickly introduces you to Tony Sarg through a picture and the quote "Every little movement has a meaning of its own" from Sarg. Through the example of Sarg feeding the chickens without getting out of bed, the reader is able to understand that Sarg was a determined man who liked to make things move. The author starts the book out through Sarg's childhood and goes on into his success with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The author gives enough information about Sarg to inform the reader without boring them with little details. The story is engaging through the text and pictures that complement the text.

The illustrations help the reader to see inside Tony Sarg's life through possible drawings and problems that Sarg faced.  We see through the illustrations that the puppets were not visible to large crowds and we see that Sarg had to change the puppets into balloons for larger crowds to enjoy the parade. The illustration are very busy and the reader will need to pause to admire the details of the illustrations.  There are few white spaces in the illustrations with extras added like rulers, buttons, maps, and pages from Tony Sarg's own book.

At the end of the book, the author list bibliography and sources used to create this biography of Tony Sarg along with the author's note for verbal access features. We also learn through the author's note that she contacted Tony Sarg's daughter who remarked that "Quite simply, Tony Sarg just never grew up." Some of the visual access features included are illustrations from THE TONY SARG MARIONETTE BOOK and a photo of Tony Sarg. A very interesting illustration is located at the back of the book. This illustration is the original advertisement promoting the parade from the NEW YORK TIMES of 1933.

4. Review Excepts:
~Robert F. Sibert Medal

~Texas Bluebonnet 2013-2014

~Orbis Pictus Award

~SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL 2011: "Sweet tells this slice of American history well, conveying bot Sarg's enthusiasm and joy in his work as well as the drama and excitement of the parade. Rich in detail, the gouache, collage, and mixed-media illustrations are a stand-out, capturing the charm of the period and the awe-inspiring balloons."

~BOOKLIST 2011: "What she [Sweet] has done is make a joyous piece of nonfiction that informs and delights in equal parts."

5. Connections:
~This story could be read as an introduction to a history lesson of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
~Use this book to discuss some traditions Americans have around Thanksgiving

Other Books By Melissa Sweet:
BATS ON PARADE
THE BOY WHO DREW BIRDS
EASY AS PIE