You Can't Take a Balloon Into the Metropolitan Museum

Loaded with pizzazz, this wordless story takes readers on a great balloon chase that encompasses some of New York City's most celebrated sites. A grandmother and a girl holding a yellow helium balloon are stopped at the door of the Metropolitan Museum and a guard ties the forbidden toy to the banister, offering to keep an eye on it. The moment he turns away, a pigeon unties the balloon, and the guard is off and running to retrieve it. Detailed pen-and-ink drawings, punctuated with color to highlight the central action, show all the chaos that ensues, from Central Park to the Plaza Hotel to a production of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera. Into the scenes of mayhem, Glasser (Alexander, Who's Not [Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!] Going to Move) cleverly inserts reproductions of famous works of art, as viewed by the girl and grandmother, each a reflection of whatever action is going on around the balloon. In the onstage scene at the opera, for example, a dog walker, a zookeeper, a Plaza bellhop and others wreak havoc while the girl and her grandmother view an equally erratic painting (Autumn Rhythm) by Jackson Pollock. Some pairings work better than others, but Glasser's drawings capture all the energy and charm of a captivating city. Ages 5-up. (Oct.)