Pobble 365: The Little Girl and The Red Balloon

Pobble 365 is described as 'One picture. One teaching resource. Every day.' Today's picture is below:

In our English lessons, we're currently writing a discussion piece about whether graffiti is art or vandalism. As today's Pobble 365 image has a clear link to that work, we used it an an opportunity to undertake some creative writing.

Each child was given the story start (in red) and then asked to write the rest of the narrative. Below is work by Emma U, Harley M, Ella R and Isobel L.

Emma U

In a world where everything seemed black and white, it brought colour. In a world where things were often bleak, it brought joy.

The drawing of a girl’s outstretched fingers pointed at the red balloon as it floated skywards.

Many years ago a real girl had held a real balloon, releasing it into the sky as she hoped her dreams and prayers would be answered. Now, her image and memory were etched on the very walls behind the spot where she once stood.

Her story, and that of the red balloon, would be told for many generations to come…

Soon after she let go of that string, she became forever known as 'The Girl and Her Red Balloon'. Even though she had long since moved on from that tragic place, her memory had not and many people travelled far and wide to see this perfect piece on a dirty, old wall (to see her). To so many she is beautiful, but to just as many she is seen as a downfall in their society. Yes she is just a picture on a wall, but to so many she is much, much more. The girl and her red balloon is seen as inspiration and without this marvellous piece she would be forgotten. As sad as it is, soon after she left, the red balloon could be seen floating over the wall looking for its owner... looking for the girl without her red balloon.  

Harley M

In a world where everything seemed black and white, it brought colour. In a world where things were often bleak, it brought joy.

The drawing of a girl’s outstretched fingers pointed at the red balloon as it floated skywards.

Many years ago a real girl had held a real balloon, releasing it into the sky as she hoped her dreams and prayers would be answered. Now, her image and memory were etched on the very walls behind the spot where she once stood.

Her story, and that of the red balloon, would be told for many generations to come…

Many years later, the same story was told and was passed on to their great ancestors, but one day it came true and once again and the red balloon floated until this one little child found it right in front of him. It was a miracle! Something like this had never happened before. He had a wish and let it go. The next year, the wish came true. It was unbelievable; all the homeless had homes, all the blind people could see and all the people with cancer were cured. It was all him: he couldn’t believe his eyes.

It was the best day of his life!

Ella R

In a world where everything seemed black and white, it brought colour. In a world where things were often bleak, it brought joy.

The drawing of a girl’s outstretched fingers pointed at the red balloon as it floated skywards.

Many years ago a real girl had held a real balloon, releasing it into the sky as she hoped her dreams and prayers would be answered. Now, her image and memory were etched on the very walls behind the spot where she once stood.

Her story, and that of the red balloon, would be told for many generations to come…

There she stood watching the days passing by; millions of people would walk by taking a glimpse, maybe a photo or a drawing. However, it would never last for long because after all she is a painting on the wall, in her small black and white world: hoping that one day her beloved dream would come true. After a few years, she began to wash away as her style of art (graffti) was now becoming illegal because people started to think that it made the streets dirty and shameful.

Isobel L

In a world where everything seemed black and white, it brought colour. In a world where things were often bleak, it brought joy.

The drawing of a girl’s outstretched fingers pointed at the red balloon as it floated skywards.

Many years ago a real girl had held a real balloon, releasing it into the sky as she hoped her dreams and prayers would be answered. Now, her image and memory were etched on the very walls behind the spot where she once stood.

Her story, and that of the red balloon, would be told for many generations to come…

The girl, who was called Madeline, longed to be an actress, but she couldn’t because of her weak heart. Everyday, people bought her amazing things, but unfortunately they couldn’t make sure she fulfilled her dreams and hopes.

One day, when her family were gathered all around her (because her heart was particularly weak that day), they all gave her (as one) a present: a red love-heart-shaped balloon. She felt as if this balloon was lucky, so she determinedly walked outside, even though she wasn’t allowed to and let go of it.

Whilst it was slowly floating up into the air, she made a wish. It was this: "I wish that one day I get to be the world’s most famous actress of all time." And her wish came true! When she was eighteen, the world’s most famous director came and told her that, if she wanted, she could star in every single film he made from now!

To remember this special day, Banksy painted a picture of her releasing the balloon on a wall so that people who walked past it could stare in wonder at the fantastic painting!