Balloons 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. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. 

This book is based on a true story of Tony Sarg, a puppeteer extraordinaire, on how he created the idea of using balloons during the Thanksgiving Macy’s Parade. Since he was a young boy, he always showed his creativity. His father had assigned Tony to feed the chickens in the mornings, but he decided that he would find a way on how to feed without getting out of bed. He successfully created a mechanism and it worked. As he grew up, he moved to New York City. He started developing paper doll or marionets. He was working in Macy’s and created a show through the window’s shop. From there on he decided to parade his marionets which eventually became giant helium balloons. Eventually, it became a tradition for Macy’s to parade their giant balloons on Thanksgiving Day. 

Melissa Sweet has written well over 100 children’s books. Her book is full of factual information and provides excellent illustrations that portray the giant balloons. The book is in chronological order, so that the readers can understand the puppeteers dream.

Teaching Activities: https://www.teachingbooks.net/media/pdf/HMH/BalloonsoverBroadwayActivityKit.pdf

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