Recommended for: Intermediate Years (4th-8th)

• The Twenty-One Balloons Book Study with weekly lesson plans, recipes, and more
• The Twenty-One Balloons Book Report Template
• The Twenty-One Balloons Extension Book List
• Multimedia Reference Materials links
• Book Club Meet-up Guide

Overview of The Twenty-One Balloons

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois is a fantasy-adventure novel filled with inventions, travel, and undiscovered civilizations. When Professor William Waterman Sherman is spotted from a ship at sea, clutching a wooden raft floating in the Atlantic Ocean, the reader is thrust into the fantastical tale. The retired professor explains how his journey started with plans to ride a hot air balloon across the Pacific Ocean, but when his balloon crashes on an undiscovered volcanic island, he encounters a civilization with new government, cultures, styles, and more. The Twenty-One Balloons is the winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal and is beloved for Pène du Bois’ rich imagination, creativity, and more.

Themes covered in this study

• World and US Geography
• Longitude and latitude
• Chester Arthur, the 21st president of the United States
• History of hot air balloons
• How balloons are made
• Landforms
• Anatomy of a volcano
• 1883 Volcanic Eruption of Krakatoa
• Minerals and diamonds
• Famous architecture
• Hurricanes
• Inventions
• Cultures and cuisines from around the world