| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Mick Inkpen has long since made his mark on the hearts and minds of children with his warm and humorous story books starring some of the most lovable and enduring characters a child is ever likely to encounter, including the much-loved Kipper and Wibbly Pig.
The Blue Balloon--the tale of an ordinary, soggy old balloon which suddenly becomes "Indestructible with Strange and Wonderful Powers"--was first published in 1989 and shows the author at his very best. Inkpen's bewitching formula of simple story and clear, bright illustrations draws his young readers into the centre of a world where the name of the game is fun.
With new and witty touches throughout the book and plenty of pull-outs and peek-a-boos to keep keen young fingers entertained this all-time favourite 10th-Anniversary edition will introduce the wonders of that mysterious balloon to a new audience while tickling the literary tastebuds of the legions of young fans who already take pleasure in this most magical yet endearingly elementary of stories.
Inkpen says that The Blue Balloon seemed to write itself, and perhaps that is part of the charm. But as the balloon--at first rather sad and pathetic--gets bigger and bigger and better and better it is easy to see why Mick Inkpen has become so popular with toddlers and parents alike. (Ages 3 to 5)--Susan Harrison --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Beautifully illustrated and full of the kinds of visual surprises kids love. (What's On (July 1993) )
Inkpen's pale watercolours against a white background give a cool, calm feel, while the use of pull-out pages and sequences of pictures give an animated feel. Beginner readers will be able to tackle the simple text, but it's a great story to share with all ages. (Junior, July 2000 )
Inkpen's pale watercolours against a white background give a cool, calm feel, while the use of pull-out pages and sequences of pictures give an animated feel. Beginner readers will be able to tackle the simple text, but it's a great story to share with all ages. (Junior, July 2000 )
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My kids (one and two) love this book. It is a simple story about a magic balloon, and it has lots of colour and magic and (important as far as my kids are concerned) fold out bits. Not too long for limited attention spans, it really hits the spot. This is definitely one of their top five books.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Helen: [...]
This is the current favourite bed time story in our house for both my 2 yr old and my 4 yr old. It makes sharing a bedtime story so much easier when you stumble across books they both adore!
Lots of children love balloons and this definitely appeals to that fascination. The story is simple, a boy finds a balloon and it turns out to be an extraordinary, indestructible and very thrilling. This balloon can change shape, size, colour and even better, it doesn't pop. It will even fly you to the moon.
This is all made more exciting by the different bits to pull or open out in the pictures. The enormous balloon has a page that opens out 4 times the size of the others. When the balloon is stretched a part of the page 'stretches' too, and so it goes on.
Verdict: The girls love the story and the pictures. It is a great book.
And for anyone interested in useless bits of information; this is also the story in which Kipper (the dog) makes his first appearance before going on to have his own series of books
This is the current favourite bed time story in our house for both my 2 yr old and my 4 yr old. It makes sharing a bedtime story so much easier when you stumble across books they both adore!
Lots of children love balloons and this definitely appeals to that fascination. The story is simple, a boy finds a balloon and it turns out to be an extraordinary, indestructible and very thrilling. This balloon can change shape, size, colour and even better, it doesn't pop. It will even fly you to the moon.
This is all made more exciting by the different bits to pull or open out in the pictures. The enormous balloon has a page that opens out 4 times the size of the others. When the balloon is stretched a part of the page 'stretches' too, and so it goes on.
Verdict: The girls love the story and the pictures. It is a great book.
And for anyone interested in useless bits of information; this is also the story in which Kipper (the dog) makes his first appearance before going on to have his own series of books
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
.....'Kipper' the dog!
The story is about a little boy who finds a balloon which behaves like any other balloon.....most of the time......
But...... as we all know, ordinary behaviour is not part of the Inkpen strategy!
From the back cover:-
'Mick Inkpen's warm and witty storybooks have been loved by children around the world for many years.
The Blue Balloon is now a celebrated classic which continues to delight millions of children, taking pride of place on their bookshelves.
It is a book to be treasured, loved, read time and time again - and passed down to a whole new generation of children.'
A simply illustrated cover opens to 28 high quality pages, in 2-page spread format, with the added interest of some fold out pages.... especially..... the very last page!
Beautifully illustrated throughout. Clearly laid out text with just enough words on each page, in a good-sized print, to be stimulating but not over-powering.
Example of text:-
'The day after my birthday party Kipper found a soggy blue balloon in the garden.
It was odd because the balloons at my party were red and white.
I blew it up.
At first I thought it was an ordinary balloon.
But now I am not so sure.
It is shiny and squeaky and you can make rude noises with it. And if you give it a rub you can stick it on the ceiling.
Just like an ordinary balloon.
But there is something odd about my balloon.......'
And.......it certainly is a rather odd balloon - needing four times the size of the page, (and some dexterity), at one point, in this very different book!
The story is about a little boy who finds a balloon which behaves like any other balloon.....most of the time......
But...... as we all know, ordinary behaviour is not part of the Inkpen strategy!
From the back cover:-
'Mick Inkpen's warm and witty storybooks have been loved by children around the world for many years.
The Blue Balloon is now a celebrated classic which continues to delight millions of children, taking pride of place on their bookshelves.
It is a book to be treasured, loved, read time and time again - and passed down to a whole new generation of children.'
A simply illustrated cover opens to 28 high quality pages, in 2-page spread format, with the added interest of some fold out pages.... especially..... the very last page!
Beautifully illustrated throughout. Clearly laid out text with just enough words on each page, in a good-sized print, to be stimulating but not over-powering.
Example of text:-
'The day after my birthday party Kipper found a soggy blue balloon in the garden.
It was odd because the balloons at my party were red and white.
I blew it up.
At first I thought it was an ordinary balloon.
But now I am not so sure.
It is shiny and squeaky and you can make rude noises with it. And if you give it a rub you can stick it on the ceiling.
Just like an ordinary balloon.
But there is something odd about my balloon.......'
And.......it certainly is a rather odd balloon - needing four times the size of the page, (and some dexterity), at one point, in this very different book!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Blue Balloon
I used to be a library assistant before taking early retirement, once a week we had a storytelling session at my library with various assistants taking it in turn to read a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Gillian Ann Humpston
An old favourite
Bought for my youngest grandaughter, we have had a copy of this book in our family through the years. All young children love it.
Published 6 months ago by Mrs. Judith M. Henshaw
A really cool book
Not sure if you can tell from the description but this book is full of pages that open out to make giant pictures, which I loved as much as my daughter! Read more
Published 19 months ago by mum2two
A lovely story
A lovely book. My little boy is obsessed with balloons and so it only seemed logical to purchase this book. He loves it. The story is great and the pictures are wonderful. Read more
Published on 11 May 2010 by Alison Williams
One of the best children's books
I first saw this book while I was at University in England doing a BEd back in the 90's. It was read to us by a primary teacher explaining how she uses it in her classroom. Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2009 by Katerina Bampali
The Blue Balloon
My little boy who's nearly 3, adores this book, even though he knows it by heart he is still delighted when we read it. Read more
Published on 11 July 2009
perfect blue
exactly what a children's book should be:
simple idea but with a sense of mystery..
not explaining everything..
not trying too hard.. Read more
simple idea but with a sense of mystery..
not explaining everything..
not trying too hard.. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2009 by bluegnu
The blue balloon
Fantstic book that keeps the kids entertained and interested in what happens with the balloon, i used it at work for reception children and they loved it.
Published on 11 Mar 2009 by Mrs. J. Bell
Love it!
Guess who wrote and illustrated Kipper? Mick Inkpen! Guess who wrote and illustrated the Wibbly Pig? Mick Inkpen! And you know who wrote this book, don't you... Mick Inkpen! Read more
Published on 2 May 2008 by Mehajabeen Farid
The Blue Balloon introduces a new character to children's...
.....'Kipper' the dog!
The story is about a little boy who finds a balloon which behaves like any other balloon.....most of the time......
But...... Read more
The story is about a little boy who finds a balloon which behaves like any other balloon.....most of the time......
But...... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2008 by Mirage
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
