YOU CAN'T TAKE A BALLOON INTO THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM

A wordless tale of two parallel adventures from Weitzman and Glasser. A young girl is headed for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with her yellow balloon and (probably) her grandmother. A guard refuses the balloon entrance, but his gestures assure readers and the girl that he will watch over it. As soon as the girl goes inside, the balloon makes a break for it and the guard gives chase. The girl and her grandmother make the rounds; the balloon goes on its merry way, creating in its tour of popular city landmarks (the Central Park Zoo, fountain, skating rink; the Plaza; Lincoln Center; etc.) tableaux vivant that imitate aspects of the fine art being experienced by the girl inside the museum. Greek amphoras mimic the gathering footrace outside, Jackson Pollock the mayhem backstage at the opera, Childe Hassam the great avenue, and more. Glasser uses fine lines and delicate color for the proceedings, into which she inserts reproductions of actual art from the museum; the iconic art becomes accessible next to the informal, self-confident pen-and-ink illustrations of a grand city.