Sally's Great Balloon Adventure
PreSchool-Grade 2—Lured by the smell of fried chicken, Sally hops into the gondola of a hot-air balloon at a balloon festival, and the pull of a rope sets her aloft. One element of Huneck's picture-book artistry is to capture every step, emotion, thought, and intuition motivating the pup and the humans around her. Huneck shows the wafting succulent smells of the chicken, the natural response of Sally to tug on the rope to get out, and her fearlessness at being off the ground, given the fine company of fried chicken. He endows Sally with dignity and humility. From below everyone calls her name and viewers see the name delightfully etched over and over across the field. Readers will chuckle at the many ideas onlookers have to get the animal down and applaud the young girl who cleverly finds a way to land the balloon. In the final woodcut, Sally is lying down, resting, eyes closed, with three outstretched hands petting her, welcoming her back home. Readers of all ages will welcome her, too.—Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City(c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.