During Read Aloud, at the end of the day, the older students listened to William Pene du Bois’ fascinating book 21 Balloons. This book chronicles the adventures of Professor William Waterman Sherman in his specially designed hot air balloon. Professor Sherman lands on Krakatoa where he discovers an amazing settlement. Sadly, the volcanic explosion of Krakatoa ends his visit and appreciation of their life of invention and culinary successes. After reading the book the children designed the balloon of their dreams and then wrote a paragraph describing the highlights of their creation. Students revisited how to locate cities on a map after being given latitude and longitude readings. They searched on a map for places Professor William Waterman Sherman might have travelled over – such as Ankara, Turkey and Brussels, Belgium.