The Twenty-One Balloons

We just finished up The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois. The kids liked this one as well. It was about a professor who created a giant air balloon called The Globe & attached a house to it so he could float around for an entire year. He really liked being alone. A sea gull poked a hole in his balloon and he crashed on the volcanic island of Krakatoa. The island was in constant motion from volcanic activity and it was difficult to walk on. He soon met the inhabitants; 20 families all with a mother, father & 2 kids. The families were all named by letters of the alphabet & children were A1 and A2 accordingly. They lived in beautiful homes built on a foundation of pure diamonds! The secret to Krakatoa...it was full of diamond mines filled with billions of dollars of diamonds! It was an interesting story. Madison is still asking us to call her and Adrienne M1 and M2. The M family's house was full of amazing inventions like bumper car couches & chairs and beds that could be raised up through a hole in the roof so the children could view the stars before going to sleep. We began reading Strawberry Girl about 2 feuding families in the deep south in the early 1900's. The kids are enjoying daddy read to them using his best southern accent.