The Twenty-One Balloons
Ratings4
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings4
Average rating3.6
A Newbery Medal Winner Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions.Winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal, this classic fantasy-adventure is now available in a handsome new edition. "William Pene du Bois combines his rich imagination, scientific tastes, and brilliant artistry to tell astory that has no age limit."—The Horn Book
Reviews with the most likes.
I've been looking for this book for decades! I remember reading it in somewhere around high school and it's stuck in my mind to reread it as it had some really unusual inventions in it. Now that I've found and reread it, it's still pretty amazing.
It's written for grade schoolers but references to Krakatoa (which I didn't know about then but do now), predictions on the new technologies (copyright 1940s), and the main character's desire to lead a simpler life (which I now want as well) really held my interest.
