Customer Reviews

The Fantastic Flying Journey

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The professional reviews for this book hurt a little to read, because as a kid I wasn't looking for an amazing plot twist or superior character complexity--I was looking for adventures, and this book offered them in spades. The very idea of a family going around in a house-balloon was novel, and the creatures they encountered were fantastic and educational. Did I secretly expect a gorilla to begin speaking with me next time we visited the zoo? Yes. Is it an entirely bad thing to have a child hope for a bit of the fantastic in the world? Only if you are a black-hearted scoundrel as are, apparently, the professional reviewers.

This book instilled in me a desire for travel, a respect for creatures apart from humans, and a sense of adventure--the idea that strange and foreign things were to be experienced and cherished rather than feared. The plot was strictly secondary. Are there better books for this educational experience? Are there more technically impressive children's books? I feel sure the answer to both is yes, but neither fact detracts from the merits of this text.

TL;DR - Now I want to live in a balloon with electric eels. Thanks, Mr. Durrell.

One of my earliest memories of reading is with this marvelous book! I am now twenty-six and remember my father reading this to me when it was first printed. I believe I recieved it as a birthday or christmas gift. I have not seen my copy for years, but with the help of Amazon been able to find the name and author of my beloved first favorite book. I am ordering a copy now! If you want to inspire your childs young mind, this is a great place to start! Even though I couldn't remember the name, the story has stuck with me all these years. I plan on reading it to my children to carry on the tradition!

My 7yo son wouldn't let me put this down! This story is about a very exciting journey around the world in a hot air balloon house. It conveys factual geographical and natural history information in such a gentle and extraordinary way. As the kids travel from continent to continent, they encounter many indigenous wildlife and discover interesting facts about them. Great read!

We have used this book as a basis for our study of around the world and learning about the continents. We would love to find 3 more copies for all teachers. We have not been able to locate these. Can you give an address of where to find them in England? A former student got one for us from a relative who lived in England in less than 4 days. Here in the states we cannot locate any.

The Fantastic Flying Journey

I enjoyed this book because it was fun, interesting, educational and good. I also enjoyed it because I'd learnt a lot more than if I hadn't read it.

I especially liked the part where Lancelot said that he never opened letters in case they were something bad. This is silly because they might be good very often.

It was very interesting that penguins would live in Patagonia on sand-dunes. I thought they would've lived on other surfaces such as rock or a little bit of sand and maybe some ice.

This book was educational because it told me some stuff I didn't know before. It also gave me a good idea of animals in the world.

I'd like to go around the world in a balloon that was pretty much a big bamboo house. It was interesting how it was powered- by electric eels and was crewed by spiders who spun webs for clothes and for closing up cracks in the balloon.

I think quite a few people that I know would like this book.

My mom and I read this book together. I really liked that the animals could talk to the humans. I was a good story. I liked it when they went around the world, reading about all the different places and the animals that lived there. - Marie, age 7 and mom.