Gregory releases his address and a balloon into the sky. Paul Mayfield answers. The two begin a mystery object game. This amusement leads them to an even bigger surprise than just some fun.
I love those events in life that make me feel nostalgic about childhood or about another time period. Who doesn’t, right? These are usually happy accidents that make us feel good or question how life turned out so differently. We are reminded of a much easier, simpler time.
Susan Bonners writes a short story of nostalgia for me with The Silver Balloon. Even though this book was written in 1997 and has no stated time period it has a much older feel to it. The story belongs to an era where life was much safer. I know I’m not comfortable giving my name to anyone much less my address. This is what Gregory our main character does. He ties his name and address to a silver balloon and sends it out his window. When Paul Mayfield finds the balloon and answers back the two begin a mystery object game. There is mention that Paul can not be a boy because Greg notices the handwriting is too mature to belong to a kid. Greg’s mother is completely fine with this. If I was a mother I would have been skeptical of this setup and wonder what Mr. Mayfield’s real intentions are. I’m sure many other mothers would have as well. This is how skeptical our society is of each other.
In today’s technology driven age most children who would read this book won’t relate to it. A parallel can be made between sending off a balloon with your address on it and a bottle with your address in it to finding an instant message buddy in a chat room or a friending a stranger on Facebook. There’s more excitement in the bottle and less danger to it. That could just be because when thinking about the balloon it is reminiscent of a time when no one thought that predators existed.
Bonners fills the story with her own charcoal black and white drawings. The photos add a certain flavor to the story. The illustrations, being done by hand add a timed feeling to the story. Going back to this technology driven age rarely is the book canvases done by hand. The depictions of the story are taken by a camera or done on a computer. Seldom are these adornments done through painting, sketch, or piece work. While reading a book I hardly remember to look at the pictures, which is a shame especially in this case. I was forced to go back and look at each one more closely. The book is lacking in character descriptions, one is now forced to create an image of each character based on the artwork or have faceless characters. This is the one of the few criticisms I have of this short story. It is also missing some background; after all it is a short story.
I enjoyed Gregory’s imagination and in his determination with continuing his game with Mr. Mayfield. The boy never gave up in searching for the identity of each of the mystery objects he is sent. His perseverance with this leads him to have his name put in a museum display, making him important and accomplished at a young age. Greg also never gives up on his camping and wilderness dreams.
Susan Bonners writes a short story of nostalgia for me with The Silver Balloon. Even though this book was written in 1997 and has no stated time period it has a much older feel to it. The story belongs to an era where life was much safer. I know I’m not comfortable giving my name to anyone much less my address. This is what Gregory our main character does. He ties his name and address to a silver balloon and sends it out his window. When Paul Mayfield finds the balloon and answers back the two begin a mystery object game. There is mention that Paul can not be a boy because Greg notices the handwriting is too mature to belong to a kid. Greg’s mother is completely fine with this. If I was a mother I would have been skeptical of this setup and wonder what Mr. Mayfield’s real intentions are. I’m sure many other mothers would have as well. This is how skeptical our society is of each other.
In today’s technology driven age most children who would read this book won’t relate to it. A parallel can be made between sending off a balloon with your address on it and a bottle with your address in it to finding an instant message buddy in a chat room or a friending a stranger on Facebook. There’s more excitement in the bottle and less danger to it. That could just be because when thinking about the balloon it is reminiscent of a time when no one thought that predators existed.
Bonners fills the story with her own charcoal black and white drawings. The photos add a certain flavor to the story. The illustrations, being done by hand add a timed feeling to the story. Going back to this technology driven age rarely is the book canvases done by hand. The depictions of the story are taken by a camera or done on a computer. Seldom are these adornments done through painting, sketch, or piece work. While reading a book I hardly remember to look at the pictures, which is a shame especially in this case. I was forced to go back and look at each one more closely. The book is lacking in character descriptions, one is now forced to create an image of each character based on the artwork or have faceless characters. This is the one of the few criticisms I have of this short story. It is also missing some background; after all it is a short story.
I enjoyed Gregory’s imagination and in his determination with continuing his game with Mr. Mayfield. The boy never gave up in searching for the identity of each of the mystery objects he is sent. His perseverance with this leads him to have his name put in a museum display, making him important and accomplished at a young age. Greg also never gives up on his camping and wilderness dreams.