The Twenty-One Balloons

The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pene du Bois

8/60 | Started 01.15.26 • Finished 02.09.26 | 5 stars

The book is about a man named Professor William Waterman Sherman. He is a balloonist who tries to fly across the Pacific Ocean in a hot air balloon called The Globe. Instead he crash lands on the island of Krakatoa. He finds a group of people living secretly on the volcanic island. He sees the diamond mines, experiences the restaurant government, and takes a ride on the balloon merry-go-round. Then one day the volcano explodes and everybody escapes on a balloon platform. The Professor crash lands into the Atlantic Ocean and is rescued. He is then taken back to San Francisco where he tells the story of his adventure.

Carolyn, age 9