The Great Balloon Hullaballoo

PreS-Gr 1—What might happen if one could go anywhere in a balloon? Young Simon the Squirrel was planning to go play when his mother gives him a shopping list and clear instructions: "Don't forget CHEESE!" Somewhere along the way, a simple errand is sidetracked—initially because Simon and friends believe the moon to be made of cheese. Soon, they are riding in a balloon on an adventure that takes them off course with a comet, landing on Mars, Saturn, Uranus, the Milky Way, Neptune, through a meteor shower and back—shopping at each stop along the way. Their findings at each landing are a bit clichéd (little green men, a planet of toilet paper on Uranus, and shakes at the Milky Way Parlor). Brightly painted animal friends in a water-washed, starry universe frame the text of rhyming couplets—presented in an eye-catching font—while the trio swing in a wild fantasy through the solar system to buy each item on the list. An additional or supplemental purchase for most libraries.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX