A Tale of Five Balloons facts for kids

A Tale of Five Balloons (Hebrew: מעשה בחמישה בלונים, Ma'ase b'Khamisha Balonim) is a famous Israeli children's book. It was written by Miriam Roth and illustrated by Ora Ayal. The book came out in 1974 and quickly became a classic story for kids in Israel.

The Story of the Balloons

This book tells the story of five children. Each child gets a special balloon from Ruti's mom.

• Ruti gets a blue balloon.
• Ron gets a yellow balloon.
• Sigalit gets a purple balloon.
• Uri gets a green balloon.
• Alon gets a red balloon.

As the story goes on, something happens to almost all the balloons. They all burst! Only Alon's red balloon does not burst. Instead, the wind carries it away, out of reach. The children watch it go and shout, "Bye, bye, red balloon!"

Whenever a balloon bursts, the children are comforted. They are told, "That's how all balloons end up." Each balloon burst for a different reason:

• Uri's green balloon burst. He was playing with it like a ball. It touched a rose bush and popped.
• Ron's yellow balloon burst. His dad blew too much air into it. Ron wanted it to be "as big as the Sun."
• Sigalit's purple balloon burst. Her cat, Mitzi, scratched it by accident.
• Ruti's blue balloon burst. She hugged it too tightly, and it popped.

What the Book Teaches

This book has a special meaning for young children. It can help them understand and deal with losing things. This could be a toy, or even a pet or friend later in life.

Miriam Roth, the author, shared how she got the idea for the story. She wanted to comfort her own children. A balloon she brought home for them had burst.

The book also helps kids learn about numbers and colors. It uses fun rhymes and a musical rhythm. This makes it easy and enjoyable for young readers to follow along.