The Day Ray Got Away

As a menagerie of huge balloon creatures wakes up and readies for a big parade (think Manhattan's Thanksgiving Day event), one member rises above the pack of superheroes and animals. After behaving for years, Ray, an inflatable and indefatigable sun, decides that this is the day. Exactly what he means isn't clear until the parade begins, and he slips away into the sky, causing mayhem for the participants and viewers left below. One of the handlers admits, We were due for an . . . uprising, as the other balloons, inspired by Ray's rebellion, also attempt to escape. Only Ray succeeds, though. The cartoonish acrylic paintings are colourful, fun, and nicely composed, and the fact that one never sees the whole of Ray, except as a dark silhouette on the final spread, creates a visual guessing game and lends mystery to his actual physical size and infinite aspirations. As light as helium, this is an enjoyable, short account of a dreamer breaking away from the terrestrial bonds of conformity. Preschool-Grade 2. --Andrew Medlar

About Angela Johnson