Princess Hyacinth has an unusual problem: She floats. “Unless she was attached to something, or weighted down, she just floated—up, up, up.” Golden weights sewn into her dresses and pebbles added to the tops of her socks help keep her grounded, but she is destined to sit alone and watch other children play beneath her window. When Hyacinth disregards the royal rules and sets off for the park, a balloon vendor gives her an idea. Soon, she is floating up with the balloons, and when the vendor accidentally lets go of the string attached to her ankle, fear is the last thing on her mind. “She did handsprings and headstands, flip-flops and fandangos. It was the most fun she had ever had in her whole life.” Humorous and slightly edgy illustrations augment the witty text full of wordplay, while the use of font size, color, and placement on (and sometimes partly off) the page round out the lighter-than-air theme. Honor Book, 2010 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 5–9)

A bestselling Caldecott Honor artist and legendary author team up in this Parents' Choice Silver Award Book!

Truly a publishing event! Florence Parry Heide, author of such classics as the Shrinking of Treehorn, and Lane Smith, recipient of a slew of awards, have created an unforgettable princess sure to charm and delight young readers.

Princess Hyacinth has a problem: she floats. And so the king and queen have pebbles sewn into the tops of her socks, and force her to wear a crown encrusted with the heaviest jewels in the kingdom to keep her earthbound. But one day, Hyacinth comes across a balloon man and decides to take off all her princess clothes, grab a balloon, and float free. Hooray! Alas, when the balloon man lets go of the string . . . off she goes. Luckily, there is a kite and a boy named Boy to save her.