Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade (Bank Street College of Education Flora Stieglitz Straus Award (Awards))

By Melissa Sweet

From Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet comes the perfect Thanksgiving Day picture book. Let's have a parade!

Meet the master puppeteer who invented the first balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Melissa Sweet brings to life the inspirational story of the puppeteer who invented the giant balloons floating in the sky during the annual parade celebrating Thanksgiving. The Caldecott Honor artist brilliantly captures the essence of Tony Sarg, a self-taught immigrant with a fascinating imagination.

The collage illustrations coupled with Sweet’s storytelling portray Sarg’s joy in his childhood inventions and his ingenious balloon creations that still bring delight to viewers around the country. This nonfiction illustrated book will capture the hearts of all ages.

“This clever marriage of information and illustration soars high.” (Kirkus starred review)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9780547767161

Melissa Sweet

Melissa Sweet is the Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator of many fine children’s books including Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White, winner of the NCTE Orbis Pictus award, Balloons Over Broadway, a Sibert winner, and The Right Word and A River of Words, both Caldecott Honors. Reviewers have described her unique mixed-media illustrations as “exuberant,” “outstanding,” and “a creative delight.” Melissa lives on the beautiful coast of Maine. In addition to writing and painting, she enjoys gardening, hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. For more information about the author and her work, visit her online at melissasweet.net.

Book preview

Reviews for Balloons over Broadway

[jillian.wehman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Each picture has text on the page. There are multiple of pictures on a page. the drawing are interesting to look at.

[cougargirl1967 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very fun read, full of true interesting information.

[katherine.boykins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book covers the life of the inventor of the Macy's Day Parade balloons, Tony Sarg. Teachers can use this book around Thanksgiving time, since many students know about and will watch the Macy's Day Parade. This book is inspiring for students who love to invent things and is a great addition to a classrooms nonfiction collection.

[librarybird08 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book to read around Thanksgiving about the puppeteer who inspired the large helium balloons we see at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

[sabrar-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This goes into the life of the man who started the Macey Day parade. His name is Tony Sarg and he was always fascinated with puppets and how and you moved the puppets. When he was old enough to move out he set out for New York City. When he first moved there he performed on Broadway while he was performing Macey's in New York asked him to design a puppet parade for the stores holiday windows. After Tony finished that job Macy's asked him to do an even bigger job. Majority of the workers and that time were immigrant and missed their holiday celebrations where they would dance and play music in the street. They asked Tony to build floats and build this parade which took place on Thanksgiving 1924. It was a huge success except for the animals. Children were getting very scared from the animals walking on the street so Tong decided to change that. That is when Tony decided to make animals out of balloons and wooden sticks. This is a very good informational/biography book because it has fin and creative illustrations to tell Tony's story. It also gives good details that students can pick up and follow.

[dalial. · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Genre: InformationalHow I would use this book:-Because many children watch and enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, I thought that this book would be a great way to present children to informational books.-After reading the book, I would have the students do a timeline of the Thanksgiving Parade based on the development of the Macy's Parade balloons. Summary: The book begins by telling the story of Tony Sarg, the puppeter whose puppets inspired the creation of the Macy's Parade balloons. The book goes on to talk about how a show for puppets that was displayed outside the window of the Macy's on Broadway became a parade with balloons that float a couple feet from the ground. Media: gouache, collage, and mixed mediaCritique: "Ballons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Macy's Parade" is a good example of an informational book because it presents accurate information about the life of Tony Sarg and the events that are mentioned in the book.

[atroesch-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book was a great read! I grew up with the tradition of watching the holiday parades and loved learning about the history of these balloons. I like that this book could be used for a number of lessons including art!

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kids who love the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will enjoy this history of the parade, especially because of the outstanding artwork by author/illustrator Melissa Sweet.When the parade started in 1924, it was planned by Tony Sarg, who designed puppets for the store’s holiday windows. The parade featured employees in costume, horse-drawn floats, and animals from New York’s Central Park Zoo. But the animals roared and growled and frightened the children, so Macy’s asked Tony to come up with something spectacular but less threatening to replace the animals.Tony contacted a company that made blimps, and asked for help making giant puppets that looked like animals. The creatures were a roaring success, and Tony kept improving them, so that eventually, they had moveable parts and were more balloon-like and could rise in the air. The giant balloon animals now gestured and articulated high overhead so everyone could see, and the crowds loved them!On the last page, Sweet adds a tribute to Sarg:"Tony Sarg - the puppeteer who loved to figure out how to make things move - had set the stage, with a little rigging, for a puppet to be anything anyone could imagine it to be.”An Author’s Note at the end provides more background on Sarg and on the parades.For the art in the book, Melissa Sweet used gouache, collage, and mixed media. The collages, as she explains at the end, are a mix of papier-mâché puppets, found objects, actual toys (including some Sweet made for the book) and fabrics, all painted or changed to reflect the world of Tony Sarg.A bibliography and list of sources completes the book.Evaluation: Be sure to include this book for your kids’ Thanksgiving activities!

[rosa.mill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book tells all about how the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade got started, but it's real focus is Tony Sarg, the puppeteer who came up with the concept of the balloons. Sarg was a really interesting man, and the illustrator really seems to have captured the fun and happiness he wanted to instill in people. (It was also cool to find out he worked with Henson). This book definitely made me want to learn more about him.

[elisemt-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book tells the story of Tony Sarg, the puppeteer of the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades. The art used throughout the book is a mix of watercolor and collages. The collages include toys, puppets, and materials gathered or created by the author/illustrator, Melissa Sweet. This is a very fun story about man whose "work" was really his outlet to play.

[hollyegirard · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a class we would read this story and then we would have a readers theater. I would allow the students to come up with their own puppets to use and come up with a script that they would use that is similar to the one used in the story.

[k_rodriguez-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Tony Sarg is the man that helped make the Macy's Day Parade on Thanksgiving become the amazing parade that it is today. He was the inventor of the balloon animals that are some of the main attraction of the Thanksgiving Parade. I thought this was very interesting because I enjoy watching the parade on Thanksgiving and it is always nice to know where it originated.

[krmajor · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“I have never done a stroke of work in my life,” declared the creator of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Tony Sarg. Although Tony never thought he did any work, the creativity and impressiveness of the famous parade is a direct product of Tony’s passion and ingenuity. Started in 1924, the self-taught puppeteer Tony was recruited by Macy’s to aid in creating a parade for their immigrant workers that would remind them of home. Every year, the parade grew into a more extravagant affair that continues even today. Sweet won the Sibert Medal for this book, and it’s easy from the very first page to see why: she uses a mix of gouache, mixed media, and collages to create enchanting illustrations. Many pages have a mixture of all three; along with her beautiful paintings, there might also be a collage of Tony’s plans and a replica of Tony’s puppet. For readers, each page provides an opportunity to point out the different kinds of art Sweet uses and typically, every page reveals something new the next time it’s looked at. Although Tony Sarg certainly lived an interesting enough life to make a book about him exciting to read, Sweet’s ingenious use of illustrations perfectly illustrate the ambitions of a man who often is forgotten, even if we see the fruits of his labor year after year. Highly recommended. Grades 1-5.

[supendleton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book-- what a fascinating story about the beginnings of the Macy's Day Parade and the fabulous helium filled creations. I did not know who Tony Sarg was until I read this story. Melissa Sweet is a brilliant illustrator - I love all her books. There is a bibliography in the back with websites/books to explore. The end papers have an original advertisement from Macy's advertising the first parade.

[rachelmuegge · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful picture book biography! The mixed media, collage style illustrations are interesting and unique. I really enjoyed learning about Tony Sarg and how the Macy's Parade took off with his amazing work and dedication.

[jdwalker-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderfully written story that tells about the life of the man that created the balloons that are in the Macy's Day Parade. It was fun to read this story to my students because it is non-fiction and they really enjoyed knowing that the story was real. At the end of the story is a real newspaper clipping from the first Macy's Day Parade, which was also fun to show my students. There is a great message to the story, one of creativity, perseverance, and just following what you love to do. What I also really enjoy about this story is that I think it will help my students look at the Macy's Day Parade in a different way the next time they see it on TV. They'll know more about its history. Defiantly a non-fiction book that I’ll be purchasing for my classroom for next year!

[jordan70-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The multitude of illustrative styles inside this book helped me to see the elements of designs of books as well as the talent of Tony Sarg. Very informative and visually fun book that exposes the reader to an unknown and amazing person whose work is all around us.Great for a middle elementary school reader/ history/ science(gases, helium) backup.

[aelmer-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This informational picture book tells us the story of how the creative Tony Sarg dreamed up and created the floats that march down the streets of New York during the annual Macy's Day Parade. The book starts with describing Sarg as a child, using strings and ropes to do his chores without leaving bed, and making marionettes. Then we are taken with him to New York where Macy's asks Sarg to help honor their immigrant employees' holiday traditions by designing a parade.The book takes us from the start to the end of the development of the famous parade balloons. Watching the Macy's Day Parade on Thanksgiving has been a tradition in my family for many many years. I loved learning about the original ideas behind the parade. It fascinated me to learn that the parade was supposed to be a combination and compilation of various cultural traditions and celebrations. This could be a great tie-in to a holiday tradition discussion with my students, or just an emphasis on the effort that art takes. I loved the perspective of the illustrations as well -- sometimes it made you feel as though you were a viewer at the parade.

[kbesaw-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book tells the story of puppeteer Tony Sarg who is famous for being the first person to create the balloons that we see in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

[mderob1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book because it immediately pulled me in and captured my attention. I am from New York and never knew the history of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The book won the Robert F. Sibert Medal and the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award. Although the book contains looks of information with the help of the illustrations and pictures it made the book colorful fun and interesting. I have learned lots of new information from this short picture book and think it could really help in a classroom teach about American Culture. The book focuses on Tony Sarg's determination how the Thanksgiving Parade tradition began. The main idea of Balloons on Broadway is to never give up on your dreams.

[mariekagreene · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Wonderfully illustrated and a joy to read. Would be great to use when connecting the artistic process to the scientific one.

[imandayeh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is a biography of Tony Sarg, the creator of the balloons used in the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. It begins with his early life and how he was always good with building things that could be controlled with the pull of a rope. It started off as just a puppet show and grew to the massive size of a parade that airs nationally every year. Not only is this story educational but it is done in an entertaining way for children. Tony Sarg was not only an amazing puppeteer but also a wonderful inventor. The illustrations were one of my favorite parts about the book she used a lot of mixed media and collages. Sweet did a wonderful job bringing this story to life.

[cindyavgi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great children’s book about the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. It talks about the talented puppeteer, Tony Sarg, who created the first Macy’s larger than life balloons in 1928. He was an immigrant who enjoyed tinkering and ended up creating the huge balloons in New York that are still seen today around the world. This book has great illustrations and collages that takes youth through what goes on behind the scenes for the Thanksgiving Day parade. Elementary students would enjoy this book around Thanksgiving and it would be a nice change from the traditional assignments.

[lianaanishchenko · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a story of a puppeteer, Tony Sarg, who from a young age was interested in how things moved. When he grew up he learned how to make puppets and made little puppets for children. When he moved to New York he was summoned by Macy's store to create floats for their Macy's Thanksgiving day parade. Very beautifully illustrated and well written book.

[marycha-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really informative and beautiful illustration. I like how detailed the illustrator put into showing how the balloons came to their form. I like the pencil drawings, the colored drawing and the colorful layout. This is a great book for research.

[phil9-9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was an amazing history of the Thanksgiving pride and how it came to be! I love the fact that Mr. Sarg first came up with this idea to celebrate the workers cultures that were employees at Macy's. It was also very fun to see how this event has evolved from a puppeteers dream to the biggest parade in the country.I love the fact this pride is very special to most americans because they think of the U.S. holiday Thanksgiving. But it really is a celebration of all people from all walks of life. I think if people knew the history they might have a better appreciate of the event and how it came to be!!

[bstove1-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I think that this is a good children's book. I really like the illustrations. They are very cartoon-like and some look like the child in the story actually drew them, so it creates a personal connection between the Tony and the reader, like the picture of his invention for the chicken coop. I also like the author's writing style. His words are simple, yet informative and do not pile on information about Tony, but present it in a way that moves smoothly and keeps interest. For example, his childhood events are only a few pages before moving on to his adult life. The message of this book is to follow your dreams.

[kelseybelden · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Summary: This is a biography of the man who invented the balloon puppets used during the Macy's Day Parade.Personal Reflection: I thought this book was very informative. It gave me answers to question I have wondered before.Classroom Extensions:1. Have children write their own biographies2. Have children make puppet balloons

[molbhall · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This picture book is a biography of Tony Sarg, immigrant, life-long tinkerer and creator of floats for the earliest Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades. He is the one who came up with the giant balloons that are now a can’t-miss part of parades in New York City and across the country. The back matter includes the bibliography for the sources used for research of this book as well as a reminder that Sarg was not a one-man show, though his creative process was streamlined for presentation in a picture book. This would be a good read for elementary schoolers and would be particularly appropriate at a late fall storytime, providing an alternative to the usual stories about the first Thanksgiving.The illustrations in this book are a highlight. Sweet uses watercolor illustrations in addition to collage and mixed media. The main illustrations are big enough for using the book as a read-aloud, though the small details are worth a closer look. The page where the first balloon is flown stands out because the two-page spread is done vertically instead of horizontally. Sweet’s creativity in the presentation of this book is a tribute to Sarg’s own innovative spirit.

[msittig-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

On Thanksgiving Day almost everyone turns on their TV to watch the Macy's Day Parade. This book has great ilustrations and collages that takes you through what goes on behind the scenes for the Thanksgiving Day parade. This book will teach children about the person who created the Macys day Parade and the puppets to go along with the parade.