Product Description

The first "manned" hot-air balloon is about to take off! But what are those noises coming from the basket?

Based on the (POSSIBLY) true report of a day in 1783, this si the story of (PERHAPS) the bravest collection of flyers the world has ever seen, as (SORT OF) told to Marjorie Priceman.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #521794 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689826429
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-Inventive illustrations depict the true story of the duck, sheep, and rooster that were "ballooning's first brave passengers" when the Montgolfiers tested their hot-air balloon in 1783. The first three spreads set the stage with lively conversational descriptions of the scene before the balloon takes off. A dramatic shift on the fourth page turn reveals the befuddled animal passengers as they ascend. Most of the remaining text is wordless, with occasional "quacks," "baas," and "cock-a-doodle-doos." With vibrant colors and varied use of panels, full-page illustrations, and spreads, Priceman paces the tale perfectly. An early four-panel scene showing the balloon at various heights while the animals try to figure out what's going on is priceless. So is the spread in which all three become attached to windblown laundry. The voyagers' progress is easy to follow, and events along the way are delightfully rendered. A time line on the endpapers fills in some of the historical data, but this "(mostly) true" version (which the author "heard…from a duck, who heard it from a sheep, who heard it from a rooster a long, long time ago") is just the way it should have happened. Sarah Wilson's Three in a Balloon (Scholastic, 1990; o.p.) covers the same event nicely, but this intriguing historical episode stands up to varied presentations, as Priceman's dynamic visual storytelling ably demonstrates.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
K-Gr. 3. Combining fact and fancy, -Priceman tells the story of the successful 1783 liftoff of a hot-air balloon, invented by the Montgolfier brothers, a flight made even more special because of its passengers: a duck, a sheep, and a rooster. Priceman sets the scene in several picture-text spreads, then segues into a nearly wordless visual narrative of the animals' comedic encounters with a clothesline, a boy with bow and arrow, a flock of birds, and more, capturing everything in buoyant artwork full of swirls and clever details (the balloon moves past animal-shaped clouds). The history, highlighted in an illustrated time line at the end of the book, takes a backseat to the humorous antics of the animals. As for the truth? Priceman claims she "heard this part of the story from a duck, who heard it from a sheep, who heard it from a rooster a long, long time ago." This differs considerably from Anik McGrory's Mouton's Impossible Dream (2000); both books employ aerial perspectives and focus on the animals, but Priceman's whimsical art is much livelier. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"llustrations are chock-a-block with goofy shenanigans that demand several viewings."

-- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A tale that's sure to soar with young readers."

-- Publishers Weekly

"Priceman's wonderful, vivacious black ink and watercolor paintings... add motion and buoyancy to an already soaring tale of a historic hot-air balloon ride."

-- Kirkus Reviews

Customer Reviews

Stratospherically Sublime
In Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride, author and illustrator Marjorie Priceman shows once again why reviewers have christened her "the master of whimsy." Recounting the Montgolfiers 1783 test run of their balloon and imagining, with postmodern verve, the story of the duck, sheep, and rooster who formed the first flight crew, Priceman's narrative is sure to delight both young readers and parents alike. (Reassurance: no animals were harmed in the telling of this Enlightenment-era tale). But the illustrations are the real treasure here (and the Caldecott committee concurs). While infused with the same spirited energy as her earlier books--How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, Emeline at the Circus--the panels in Hot Air glow with a luminosity that outshines even Priceman's earlier work.

Barnyard Animals Aloft
Starting with the historical facts of the first hot-air balloon ride, which took place in Versailles, France in 1783, Priceman lets her imagination - and illustrations - run wild. The first hot-air balloon aviators (i.e., the guinea pigs) were a sheep, a duck and a rooster. After a few introductory pages of text, Priceman depicts the flight with a series of wordless illustrations. The complex pictures lend themselves to careful inspection to catch all the elements of the story. In the end, our barnyard aviators land safely, which I hope this is one of the true facts of this story. 2006 Caldecott Honor Book.

Congratulations on your 2nd Caldecott Award!!!
I love this book and my children love it more. The story is hilariously told through the beautiful illustrations. The Caldecott committee made an excellent choice. This book would appeal to children of all ages.