Gemma Mallorey

The balloon soars high in the sky. Large, beautiful and rather lonely. He tries hard to make friends but, being so high up, he appears aloof and distant. Something has got to give, and in a little time it does! Discover how Balloon ends up happier, if somewhat changed ...

The Lonely Balloon

Briar's Reviews

The Lonely Balloon is a super cute, children's novel with absolutely fantastic pictures! 

This book doesn't have a rhyming scheme, which was a nice change. The lack of forced rhyme made me appreciate this book more so than I expected too! 

The book follows a beautiful, green balloon as it soars up high! The balloon meets birds and flags as he makes his way up to the sky - but he is oh so lonely! He was super happy when he played with children, and lucky him that a child was carrying him around! The balloon begins to make new friends in the child's bedroom as he slowly deflates.

The theme of this story is a strong, well thought out one - even if you don't see yourself as "beautiful" or "perfect", it doesn't matter! You can still not be at your best and be friends with other people! Those friends will love you despite your flaws. 

I did really like the illustration style. It was similar to water colour, but with sharp corners for the buildings. It was simple on the eyes! The simplicity was just beautiful, since it didn't try to overdo itself with crazy, in-depth pictures yet it was so elegant with it's style and colours at the same time.

I really enjoyed this short story! I'd highly recommend it for it's beautiful theme and fantastic artwork. It's an excellent children's read, perhaps for bedtime? Either way, it's a must read picture book from this reviewer!

Three out of five stars!