Up in Bubbles

Up in Bubbles

Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.

Author Barbara Salsberg Mathews Published 1979-??-?? Type Fiction Genre Adventure Themes Adventure Age Group Early Children

Up in Bubbles is a children's book written and illustrated by Barbara Salsberg and published in 1979. The book is about a girl who blows a giant pink bubblegum bubble and floats away inside of it, and the people who follow her. The illustrations are made from ink line art. All of the illustrations are in black and white, except for the gum, which is always colored pink.

Personal

Own?	Hardcover, 1st edition.
Read?	Hardcover, 1st edition.
Finished	Mid-1980s.

My mother had a copy of this book and I remember being fascinated with the illustrations in the mid-1980s, even before I could read. As my siblings and I got older, the book was probably given away and it faded from my memory. Every few years or so I'd remember it, but it wasn't until I was 27 that I wanted to find it and read it again. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the title and author, so I didn't have any luck searching for it online. Thankfully, my older sister still remembered the title and I was able to find a used copy online.

In 2017, I contacted the author and told her how much I loved the book as a child and looked forward to reading it to my children. She thanked me, and said she would pass the message onto her daughter who is now an author as well.

Review

Overall:

Good

• The story is very fanciful and fun to imagine.
• The illustrations have a sort of surreal unearthly feel to them that I really love.
• Using black and white, but coloring the pink bubblegum was a good artistic choice.

Bad

• The book is sadly too short, and doesn't have much of a plot, but then, it is a kid's book.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

• 

  An example illustration.

Representation

Strong female character?	Pass
Bechdel test?	Unknown
Strong person of color character?	Fail
Queer character?	Fail

Links