Ballooons Over Broadway: The true story of the puppeteer of Macy's parade

Sweet, M. (2011). Balloons over Broadway: The true story of the puppeteer of Macy's parade. New York: Houghton.

Tony Sarg was a little boy who loved to tincker with things, and figure out how to make them move. Once his father asked him to feed the chickens, so he came up with a way of doing it with out leaving his bed. His father was so impressed with his invention, that Tony didn't have to do chores ever again. When Tony grew up, he moved to London where he bagan making marionettes. Tony's marrionette's movement were so life like, that they made him famous. When he moved to New York, his marrionettes had their own show on broadway. Tony went on to design marrionettes for Macy's store windows. Macy's also appointed Tony to help them put on a parade for all the immigrants who missed their traditions during the holidays. He created a parade based on street carnivals from all over the world. On Thanksgiving Day Tony's creations made their first appearance, and were a success. Macy's decided to put on the parade every year, but asked Tony to replace the animals in the parade with something bigger and better. This is when Tony created the first air filled puppets that people controlled with rodes. The problem was that these puppets were to close to the ground, and many people could not see them. So the following year Tony created the first helium filled balloons that floated above the crowd. These balloons floated into the air for everyone to see, and were controlled from below. His creations were a hit, Tony had given New York an unforgetable parade. From that day on Tony's balloons would fill the sky at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade every year. The illustration in this book are fantastic and add life to the story. They colorful and playful images draw the reader in, and give a first hand look at how Tony brainstormed his ideas. The illustationa also make the reader want to jump right into the page, so as to part of all the excitment that Tony's balloons created. Kid of all ages will enjoy looking through this fun and informative book. This book would also be a great for kids in the upper elementary to early middle school years to use when working on biographies. The author's information is accuarate which all readers will appreciate, and she even adds some small notes at the end along with clipping of newspaper articles on the inside cover to futher educate the reader on the life of Tony Sarg.