Sittin' On A Rainbow: World on A String by Larry Phifer

Deep in the forest, Charlie found a balloon, big, red, and bright like the moon.

He spun it around like the world on a string

It's the best balloon--simply the best thing he's ever had.

It becomes Charlie's best friend

They do everything together.

But one day a storm grows near, and before Charlie can take care, the wind pulls the balloon's string from his hand, and his friend blows away, driven by the brisk breeze.

"I didn't mean to let go!"

But his balloon is gone and Charlie is alone. And very sad.

To console himself, though, he tries to think, not of himself, but of the balloon, riding high in the sky, and the adventures he is going to have among the clouds and soaring in the moonlight, meant to fly free.

Dealing with  loss, in this case with the metaphor of a beloved balloon, is the subject of Larry Phifer's World on a String (Storytime Works, 2014). Dan Popovici's gentle abstract illustrations, executed in glowing sunset colors give this parable of love and loss a dreamlike aura that softens the message with the thought that the friend goes on to new adventures, one easy on the hearts of the young.

A Bang-Up Graduation: A Balloon for Isabel by Deborah Underwood

"NO FAIR," SAID ISABEL.

"YEAH, NO FAIR!" SAID WALTER.

IT WAS TWO DAYS BEFORE GRADUATION.

IN TWO DAYS THE POSSUMS,THE RACCOONS, AND ALL THE OTHER ANIMALS WOULD GET BALLOONS.

BUT NOT THE PORCUPINES.

Porcupine preschoolers Isabel and Walter are tired of watching their classmates get holiday balloons while they get yet another bookmark. It's high time for a porcupine protest.

Ms. Quill, prickle-covered too, admits to a secret balloon yen herself, but points out patiently that balloons are definitely a bust around porcupines. They're just not safe for the pop prone, she adds. Someone could be frightened by the big bang, and a flying popped balloon could cause an eye injury. Walter and Isabel suggest graduation goggles for everyone, but Ms. Quill persists with her no-pop protocol.

Isabel, however, is not yet out of anti-pop plans. From a cardboard box she fashions a pop-stopping set of armor, but finds she has a definite doorway problem. Pillows strapped over their quills are easily perforated, leaving a trail of down everywhere they go. Wrapping Walter in plastic bubble wrap just sets their classmates off in a popping party around Walter's protective packing at school.

There's only one day left to come up with a pop-proofing plan. Then, at a cookout in his backyard, Isabel admires the table spread with candies from Walter's father's sweet shop. Her sharp eyes fall upon a jar of brightly colored gumdrops. "Poof!" Isabel spots a possible solution!

The next day Isabel, jelly candies impaled on the tip of every quill, bursts into the classroom.

"WE'RE POP-PROOFED!" SHOUTED ISABEL. "NOW MAY WE HAVE BALLOONS?"

Isabel and Walter reveal their graduation day pop-proof quill-dos--each quill prettily capped with a bright gumdrop, ready for their graduation balloons just like the rest of their class.

MS. QUILL BLINKED. SHE STARED. SHE TOUCHED ONE OF ISABEL'S GUMDROPS WITH HER PAW.

"I DON'T SEE WHY NOT," SHE SAID FINALLY.

"ARE THERE ANY GUMDROPS LEFT?" WHISPERED MS. QUILL.

Success is sweet, and Isabel, Walter, and even Ms. Quill join the pop-proof balloon-bearing parade at graduation.

Deborah Underwood's new A Balloon for Isabel (HarperCollins, 2010) is a great tribute to the powers of mind over matter as the persistent Isabel finds the perfect plan to realize her dream of marching with her own graduation balloon in hand. Laura Rankin helps out Underwood's deft foreshadowing (Walter eagerly swaps the ubiquitous gumdrops in his lunchbox for Isabel's broccoli) with her palette of jelly-bean colors, right down to Isabel's seemingly endless supply of pastel Mary Jane Jellies and Ms. Quill's bead necklaces which look like a string of gumdrops themselves. The final page, showing the happy Walter and Isabel--not to mention Ms. Quill, with her jelly-do, a huge pink balloon, and a very satisfied smile--will surely bring a smile to readers as well.