darker tone, with the mad owner of the mine having constructed a hollow in the earth to imprison the unfortunates who had discovered the mine. The story's protagonist has a sexual encounter with the daughter of the mine owner, and discovers that he faces execution. The stories also differ in their intentions and audiences. The Twenty-One Balloons is a children's story, with only a mild, playful interest in social commentary. By contrast, "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is a parable for adults; it articulates large social themes that preoccupied Fitzgerald throughout his career as a mature writer, and which found their way into his major novels, notably The Great Gatsby. The two stories in popular culture In the TV show Mad Men, season four, episode five ("The Chrysanthemum and the Sword"), the du Bois novel is being read by a child, Sally Draper; in season two, episode three ("The Benefactor"), her mother, Betty Draper, reads out of the Fitzgerald collection containing his story (Babylon Revisited and Other Stories). References External links The motion picture and digital rights to The Twenty-One Balloons are owned by Big View Pictures Inc. The flash story board for the film project can be viewed online http://bigviewpictures.com Newbery Medal–winning works 1947 American novels American children's novels Balloons (aeronautics) Children's fantasy novels Fiction set in 1883 Krakatoa Novels set in Indonesia Novels set in San Francisco Viking Press books 1947 children's books Works set on balloons 1883 eruption of Krakatoa