Module 4: The Twenty-one Balloons by William Péne du Bois

The Twenty-one Balloons by William Péne du Bois tells the curious story of a world traveler and his quest for peace and quiet gone awry. 

Summary

This is a fantastical science fiction tale that begins with an aging arithmetic teacher, Prof. William Waterman Sherman, who wants to live in peace and quiet after retiring.  He plans to fly in a hot air balloon, which he designed and meticulously outfitted for a trip around the world. He hoped to stay in the air all the way around the globe on a year-long escape.

However, only days into his journey, his balloon crashes and he washes up on the shores of a reportedly uninhabited island, Krakatoa.  He soon finds himself greeted by a friendly stranger and taken to see the wonders and secrets of the island, including an entire village full of elaborate homes and unfathomable wealth in diamond caves around the volcano in the center of the island.  His stay on the island is cut short when the volcano erupts and he narrowly escapes along with all of the citizens inhabiting the island.  

The professor recounts the harrowing details to a stunned audience in his hometown of San Francisco upon his return.  He is hailed as a record-breaking adventurer and fully enjoys the spotlight despite being unapologetically a loner.

Impressions

I fell in love with the wittiness and dry humor in this story.  The deadpan manner of speaking of the Professor as he tells his tale is hilarious.  The tone is proper yet absurd and it makes the story that much more interesting.

Science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math are all addressed as the professor conceptualizes and builds his flying balloon house.  After he arrives on the island, even more inventions and innovations are described.  This provided hours of imagining what each contraption and location would look like.  Vivid descriptions throughout the book give the reader a sense of wonder and delight.  Politics are also featured including themes of socialism and democracy as the citizens of the island form a “Restaurant Republic”.  

The few illustrations, drawn by the author, serve to give a very basic picture of things.  Simple sketches in black and white are purposefully vague so that the reader can fill in the colors and details with their own imagination.

Professional Reviews

When, in the fall of 1883, Prof. William Waterman Sherman, lately of San Francisco, was found adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, clinging to the debris of twenty balloons, all America rocked with curiosity, especially as he refused to tell his story until he had reported to the Western American Explorers’ Club. He had, it was reckoned, halved the record of “Around the World in Eighty Days,” and indeed his story, given here in the form of his verbal report to the club would have made Jules Verne twitch with envy.

            Wearying of forty years of arithmetic and small boys, the elderly school teacher had planned to spend a whole year aloft in a balloon, but fate, in the form of an inquisitive sea-gull, dropped him in the ocean close to the island of Krakatoa.  Four days later that island blew up in the biggest explosion the world has ever seen, but in the meantime Professor Sherman had seen the most fabulous diamond mines that a miser had ever dreamed of, had been charmed by the eighty Krakatoans’ ingenious and convenient mode of living and with them made an equally ingenious escape from the volcano. The details of all that will enthrall any youngster of 8 up who has ever flown a toy balloon or tinckered around the house.

            Much of the story, we are informed, is based on scientific principles. We’ll leave that to the boys for proof and enjoy the tale for its dead-pan humor which mingles extravaganza with the smallest practicalities into a remarkable yarn, and for the beautifully drawn illustrations which are just as imaginative and funny as the text.

Buell, 1947

"The idea of a man who spoke English on a small volcanic island in the Pacific seemed so odd." Professor William Waterman Sherman is a teacher who wants to leave all the problems in life and live in a hot air balloon house for a year. A bird pecks a hole in the balloon, and he Ends himself on a volcanic island that is populated by very civilized people who have made their own government. He left San Francisco with only one balloon, but only 24 days later, is found on a raft with 21 balloons. He tells the story of what happened in those 24 days to his fellow explorers at the Western American Explorers' Club.

This is one of my favorite novels. Its story about the Professor's stay amidst a strange society and his exciting departure is very original, well written, and funny. The author describes the details so well that you can picture every scene in your mind. This book is a fast read, and ends so quickly it leaves one wishing there was more.

Gill, 2005

Library Uses

STEAM topics abound in this book. After reading a few excerpts describing several inventions, students could try to either draw or build one of the designs.  Building materials could range from Legos and wiki sticks to balloons and string with popsicle sticks.

References

Buell, L. (1947, May 4). The twenty-one balloons. New York Times.  Retrieved from

    http://search.proquest.com/docview/107944424?accountid=7113

Du Bois, W. (1947). The twenty-one balloons,. New York, NY: Viking Press.

Gill, S. (2005). The 21 balloons. Voices from the Middle, 13(2), 66-67. Retrieved from

    http://search.proquest.com/docview/213931210?accountid=7113