You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum

Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Glasser have created a gorgeous picture book: You Can’t Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum. Wordlessly the author and illustrator show the frenzied chase of a security guard through New York City as he tries to snag a run-away balloon. Inside the museum, a girl enjoys the artwork, unaware of the adventure her balloon is experiencing.

I love the way Weitzman and Glasser use famous works of art to punctuate the action happening in the city. The book doesn’t try to teach you about art or about New York City. Instead, it gives you a glimpse of both and lets you draw your own conclusions.

There are two other books in this series which may interest you. You Can’t Take a Balloon into the National Gallery follows a balloon’s travels through Washington, D.C., and You Can’t Take a Balloon into the Museum of Fine Arts is an adventure through Boston, Massachusetts. All three books feature beautiful pen-and-ink drawings with punches of color.

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