Beaten by a Balloon

by Margaret Mahy, Jonathan Allen (Illustrations)

Receiving a sunflower and a balloon instead of the exciting, weaponlike toys he has requested, Sam Appleby learns his uninteresting gifts have more bang than he expected when the dread robber Buckbounder comes to visit. Reprint.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2000

About the author

Margaret Mahy was a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.

Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance both received the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association. There have 100 children's books, 40 novels, and 20 collections of her stories published. Among her children's books, A Lion in the Meadow and The Seven Chinese Brothers and The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate are considered national classics. Her novels have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Japanese, Catalan and Afrikaans. In addition, some stories have been translated into Russian, Chinese and Icelandic.

For her contributions to children's literature she was made a member of the Order of New Zealand. The Margaret Mahy Medal Award was established by the New Zealand Children's Book Foundation in 1991 to provide recognition of excellence in children's literature, publishing and literacy in New Zealand. In 2006 she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award (known as the Little Nobel Prize) in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature".

Margaret Mahy died on 23 July 2012.

On 29 April 2013, New Zealand’s top honour for children’s books was renamed the New Zealand Post Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret...

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a funny, Saturday morning cartoon-style story of a kid whose parents won't allow any "violent" toys in the house, yet who finds a creative way to capture a bank robber. The robbery scene is so over the top silly it's doubtful any youngsters will be fearful of it.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was funny how the robber was caught, and the bully was shown up, all without them really trying 🤣

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most unusual picture books I have ever read, and I have read a lot! Due to its absurd storyline I had to give it 5 stars.

Sam Appleby is a young boy who wants a toy sword. What boy doesn't? Unfortunately his overly conservative parents will not allow him to have one and instead offer to purchase him a potted sunflower. Nice consolation prize? No, but Sam is a good child and doesn't complain even though his bully of a neighbor, Hacky, teases him relentlessly. However, when Buckbounder, (the most flamboyant bank robber I have ever seen) tries to rob the bank, Sam and his sunflower show more courage than the sword wielding Hacky.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of Mahy's better picture books. Don't like the illustrations at all.