World on a String – Larry Phifer

Title: World on a String
Author: Larry Phifer
Published: Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), June 2013
Source: via Net Galley
Links: [goodreads][amazon.com]

Picture book that offers a uniquely uplifting perspective on loss.

World on a String is the story of a young boy, Charlie, who finds and befriends a big red balloon. Soon, Charlie and his balloon become best friends. They play together. They go to school together. They do everything together.

Then, one night, Charlie’s balloon comes untied in a thunderstorm. At first, Charlie is very sad. He imagines that his friend is lost, tangled and all alone.

However, by remembering the happy times they shared, Charlie is able to shift his perspective, deal with his loss and, ultimately, he imagines his balloon as a very important part of the starry sky.

I like the idea of the book.

Charlie finds and befriends a big red balloon.  As they play and do everything together, Charlie sees the balloon as his favorite thing.  When the balloon is being blown away in a storm, Charlie becomes sad.  He dwells in his sadness for a while and then he starts remembering all the happy moments that he’s shared with the balloon.  And when he chooses to cherish his memories, he feels relaxed and he can sleep.  He dreams about meeting with his balloon up high in the starry sky.

I guess we all have our unique experiences.  We see something we like.  We label them as our favorite things.  We carry them around.  We talk about them.  We introduce them to our friends.  We enjoy spending time alone with our favorite things.  And when our favorite things are no longer present, we become sad.  We feel like the world has ended.  We may cry and sob and wonder why things haven’t turned out the way we wanted.  And then gradually, we find our way to get through our depressed moment.  We learn to accept what’s still here in the now and we say thank you to the wonderful memories that we cherish.

I like that the book offers a way to help us see the good in the moment.

To view some of the illustrations, click here.

Rating:   ★★★★★

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