Weitzman, Jacqueline Preiss 1964-

PERSONAL:

Born June 19, 1964, in Poughkeepsie, NY; daughter of Ralph J. (an electrical engineer) and Marcia Splaver (an arts presenter) Preiss; married Larry Weitzman (a television producer), September 11, 1994; children: William, Alexander. Education: Vassar College, B.A. (with honors), 1986; Parsons School of Design, A.A.S., 1989.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—Faith Hornby Hamlin, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, 55 5th Ave., New York, NY 10003. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Bennet-Wallace, New York, NY, design assistant, 1986-88; Charles H. Klein Interiors, New York, NY, designer, 1988-90; Silver & Ziskind Architects, New York, NY designer, 1990-98; writer, 1998—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Notable book citation, American Library Association, 1998, "pick of the lists" citation, American Booksellers, and inclusion among "100 titles for reading and sharing," New York Public Library, all for You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN

You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum, illustrated by sister, Robin Preiss Glasser, Dial (New York, NY), 1998.

You Can't Take a Balloon into the National Gallery, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, Dial (New York, NY), 2000.

You Can't Take a Balloon into the Museum of Fine Arts, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, Dial (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman's wordless picture book You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum was described by Booklist reviewer GraceAnne A. DeCandido as echoing "the style of Eloise and the substance of The Red Balloon." The book was illustrated by Weitzman's sister, Robin Preiss Glasser. DeCandido said the "lively, squiggly ink sketches with characters picked out in watercolor and gouache for accent … tell a vivid, happy tale.

A girl and her grandmother are visiting the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. The girl has a big yellow balloon, and the guard stops them at the entrance and tells them the balloon cannot be taken inside. He ties it to a railing for safekeeping, but a pigeon pecks at the string, and it floats away. The guard chases the balloon through the Children's Zoo, the Wollman Ice Skating Rink, and the Palm Court of the Plaza Hotel. Mary M. Burns wrote in Horn Book that the chase is "reminiscent of a Marx brothers skit." The action outside the museum is reflected by the art the child and grandmother are simultaneously viewing inside the museum.

When the chaos includes a street musician, they are looking at Seurat's Invitation to the Sideshow; when the chase includes a horse, they see chariot races on Greek vases. The group chasing the balloon grows larger and marches into the Metropolitan Opera during a performance of Aida. The parallel work of art is the ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur. A mime captures the bal- loon and returns it to the guard. When the girl leaves the museum and retrieves her balloon, she has no idea of what has transpired.

The book introduces children to some of the treasures to be found in the Met, as well as to other interesting sites in New York City. Burns called You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum "deftly handled, painstakingly executed" and "funny and elegant at the same time…. It also celebrates the relationship between art and reality." Walter Goodman wrote in the New York Times Book Review that it is a "colorful account." School Library Journal reviewer Susan Lissim called it "a fun story with a lovely grandparent/child relationship."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 1998, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum; March 15, 1999, review of You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum, p. 1310.

Horn Book, November, 1998, Mary M. Burns, review of You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum, p. 723.

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 1998, review of You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum, p. 1539.

New York Times Book Review, November 15, 1998, Walter Goodman, review of You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum, p. 49.

Publishers Weekly, October 26, 1998, review of You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum, p. 66.

School Arts, September, 1999, Ken Marantz, review of You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum, p. 48.

School Library Journal, December, 1998, Susan Lissim, review of You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum, p. 94.