Balloon girls by Darrell Pitt

Balloon Girls by Darrell Pitt is an easily digestible book which dives quickly into the plot and holds the reader's interest through the ready banter between all the characters and the ride through disaster after disaster. The storyline is firmly grounded in the school life (both academic and social) of Middle Years students in the small town of Yallaroo in country Victoria. It is good to read a book that is so strongly wrought against an Australian rural setting. As the girls release and track three ballons, during their rigorous scientific experiment, country Victoria is traversed and information about North Eastern Victoria sheep farming districts and alpine areas is offered to the reader. 

The title encompasses the guts of the story - that of three girls who conduct an experiment involving balloons in order to prove that the Earth is indeed round with the aim of winning a competition to travel to the Smithsonian Museum in the USA. A secondary metaphor suggested by the title "balloon girl" is a fat girl and from this stems the bullying theme which is an undercurrent throughout the story.

By using their complementary skills the three girls compete in a national competition. Sub stories run longside this main action including the solving of an age old town mystery, a crime involving arson, unpleasant newcomers to the town, unexpected treasure and the growing understanding of what really matters in life.

The characters are multi-racial. Pitt scatters much interesting information for the student on a variety of subjects throughout the text although the information about the Dog on the Tuckerbox has better interpretations. The central character, Ally, is inspired by Marie Curie. The things that happen in her life combined with her own grit and determination and support from her family and friends help her to remain grounded whilst reaching for the sky.

Middle School students will find Balloon girls easy to read, informative on a number of general knowledge topics and slightly unputdownable. Teacher's notes are available.

Themes: Science, family, friends, High School, Australian country community.

Wendy Jeffrey