Author/Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Awards: Caldecott Award
Genre: Nonfiction (biography)
Grade Level: PK- 2
Even as a child, Tony Sarg was always trying to make things move. He even built contraptions to do his chores for him! When he grew up, he moved to London and noticed that children didn't have any puppets, so he began to make them for all the children. Eventually his puppets were used in Broadway productions. Macy's asked him to design puppets for their windows, and he used cartoon characters for his inspiration. As the holidays approached, Macy's decided to provide a parade for their employees and Tony was hired to replace the scary animals with more friendly characters. This became an annual event to entertain guests on Thanksgiving. Tony continued to improve his balloons each year.
I love the nontraditional illustrations in this story. On every page their is something unique, including diagrams, sketches, parade routes, and even puppets that look like they are laying on the page.
This book would be especially useful around Thanksgiving when sone students may be watching the parade at home. Students can learn a lot about the time period of this story. The illustration include older phones, streets, buildings, and of course, puppets. Students can appreciate the hard work Tony Starg put into his designs, especially without the use of the modern technology that we have now.
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