Ella and the Balloons in the Sky

K-Gr 2—Ella, charmingly drawn with thin outlines and scribbled hair, searches the house for her pet dog, fish, bird, and cat, only to find them tied to balloons gently floating up to the sky. After failing to grab them from the top of a tree and missing her mark with a sharp rock, her mother says, "When things float away we must stay on the ground and know in our hearts that some day they'll be found." Undaunted, Ella's final attempt at taking to the skies with 100 balloons of her own doesn't work either, prompting her mother to help her cope with the idea that good-bye does not have to mean gone forever. Thus this tale takes a turn from whimsy to deep loss. Pale, barely there colors over parchment-tinted pages evoke a subdued gentleness that softens the blow of the plot's departure/abandonment/possible death of not one but four beloved pets at once. Still, adults should prepare themselves for many questions along the lines of "What really happened?" and "Why?" from concrete-thinking youngsters.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library