The Red Balloon

When I was little I loved the story of The Red Balloon.  It was a short film by the French filmmaker, Albert Lamorisse.  The film was also made into a children's book that we would check out of the library countless times.  Most of the pictures were in black and white, but an occasional page would be in full color.  The story, as described by Wikipedia, has a music score but almost no dialogue and tells of Pascal, who, on his way to school one morning, discovers a large helium-filled red balloon.

As Pascal plays with his new found toy, he realizes the balloon has a mind and will of its own. It begins to follow him wherever he goes, at times floating outside his bedroom window as Pascal's mother will not allow it in their apartment.

The red balloon follows Pascal through the streets of Paris, and the pair draw inquisitive looks from adults and the envy of other children as they wander the streets. At one point the balloon enters Pascal's classroom, causing an uproar from the other pupils. The noise alerts the principal, who becomes angry with Pascal and locks him up in his office until school is over. At another point in the movie, Pascal and his balloon encounter a little girl with a blue balloon that also seems to have a mind of its own.

In their wanderings around the neighborhood, Pascal and the balloon encounter a gang of bullies, who are envious of his balloon, and they soon destroy his new friend.

The film ends as the other balloons in Paris come to Pascal's aid and take him on a cluster balloon ride over the city as the narrator states that other balloons took Pascal up to a magical world where balloons and children can be friends forever.

My mom actually gave me a copy of the book a few years ago for Christmas and I sometimes read it to my students at school when we learn about Europe.

You might be asking yourself, what is the big deal with the red balloon?  Well,  at my birthday party there were several helium filled balloons tied to the mailbox.  After the party was over I took the balloons home with me and one by one they lost their air and slowly fell to the floor.  All, that is, except the red one.  It seemed to have a mind of it's own and last night I noticed it following me around.  It even made it upstairs and was hanging out in my room with me while I got ready for bed.

Every time I turned around the red balloon was there!  Just to prove how this balloon did whatever it wanted, I caught it on video.