#272 of 1001 · April 29, 2021

Princess Leora loves balloons. Her uncle the Archduke hates them. From the conflict inherent in this simple premise, Phoebe Gilman crafts a merry original adventure in The Balloon Tree. When Leora’s father the king is invited to a tournament in a foreign kingdom, he tells her that if trouble arises she need only release a bunch of balloons to signal him. Once he departs, the wicked Archduke immediately stages a coup, usurping the throne and ordering every balloon in the kingdom destroyed. On the advice of her friend the Wizard, Leora must find one last balloon and bury it beneath a tree in the castle courtyard to trigger a magical phenomenon. Gilman’s quirky scenario is enhanced by her illustrations, which combine jewel-bright fantasy imagery with compositional references to paintings by the masters of the Dutch Golden Age. #balloon #balloons #tree #princess #king #castle #magic #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks