Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman

In this wordless story, a young girl and her grandmother view works inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while the balloon she has been forced to leave outside floats around New York City causing a series of mishaps that mirror scenes in the museum's artworks.

While a brother and sister, along with their grandmother, visit the National Gallery of Art, the balloon they were not allowed to bring into the museum floats around Washington, D.C., causing a series of mishaps at various tourist sites. Images of thirty-two famous Americans appear among the illustrations.

Joe conquers his fear of the strange creature moving into the house next door, as well as the treehouse in the creature's backyard.