Congratulations to Melissa Sweet for winning the 2012 SCBWI Golden Kite award for picture book! Balloons Over Broadway is the wonderfully told and illustrated story of puppeteer Tony Sarg, the creative force behind Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. I had never heard of Mr. Sarg and haven’t seen the parade in New York, even on TV. The idea of watching TV during a family holiday was unthinkable while I was growing up. But, Melissa’s book has given me a new appreciation for the parade and the artistry behind it.
I love how Melissa combines watercolor paintings with collage and 3 dimensional objects. It’s encouraging to see sculptural illustration recognized this way. Melissa and I met years ago at a conference and I was struck by her unbounded creativity and willingness to experiment with all kinds of materials in her artwork. We’ve been in contact more recently, when I asked if I could use these images in my slide talk about the joys and challenges of 3 dimensional illustration. It turns out that we have the same publisher (Houghton Mifflin) and that both of our books were photographed by Rick Kyle of 5000K.
Reading and looking at the pictures in Balloons Over Broadway is a delightful experience. I’m so excited for you, Melissa!
SALLEY MAVOR 
This looks wonderful! (I do know who Tony Sarg is due to research of another puppeteer. And I have seen the parade!) Think that I must get this book! Thanks for sharing this!
I have not encountered her work — I’ll rectify that situation now…it looks amazing. Thanks for sharing it!
The Tony Sarg and New England(Nantucket)_ connection to the Macy parade is amusingly detailed in James Stevenson”s NY Times Op Ed entitled “Balloons Over Broadway” ,The history is entertaining amusing and interesting . I love Melissa’s book and yours ,Sally; Thanks to you both f rom me and my Michigan great grandchildren ! We’re fans! THANKS.Win Liles
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing. I will be looking for this book.
Thank you for sharing this post Salley! It’s been an honor and a thrill to do this book and to connect with people who know Tony Sarg, (and to introduce him to those who don’t know him).
He’s pretty inspiring. Best, Melissa
Melissa is giving a collage workshop next month at a conference here in Seattle and I’ve signed up! So excited to meet her! Thanks for keeping us in touch with other fabulous picture book artists.
I know that you will have fun at the SCBWI workshop, Laurie!