If you are looking for a Thanksgiving read aloud to spark your students’ creativity and imagination- you have got to read Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet. I instantly fell in love with this book!
It is based on Tony Sarg- an artist who created puppets and the first balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
While I love all turkey books, the book Balloons Over Broadway is a breath of fresh air in the collection of Thanksgiving read alouds!
The illustrations are perfect (the book is a Caldecott Honor Winner). After the read aloud I would suggest giving students the opportunity to read the book independently so that they can pour over the detailed illustrations. The author/illustrator Melissa Sweet uses a variety of mediums to create the pictures.
Focus… Cause and Effect
I think this story lends itself really well to focusing on cause and effect. Tony is a problem solver and he demonstrates that time and again in the book.
I have included a printable page that you can use if you would like to highlight cause and effect when using this book in your classroom. The file also includes a text to self connection story extension page.
You can grab both free pages HERE.
One thing that I really appreciate about this story is that Tony finds something that he loves and follows his heart to make a life for himself doing the thing that he loves. The free story extension page asks children to list the things that they love to do… this would be a great springboard for student sharing and then discussing some of the career opportunities that would involve those talents or loves. Even with elementary students I think these conversations are important!
If you are looking for any additional Thanksgiving resources you might want to take a look at these…
I hope that you will read Balloons Over Broadway to your students this holiday season!
You might also enjoy this blog post… How to Catch a Turkey with a focus on the author’s word choice!
