Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Caldecott Honor Book) [Hardcover]

Marjorie Priceman (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Caldecott Honor Book

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.

Editorial Reviews

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (June 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689826427
• ISBN-13: 978-0689826429
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Children's Books > History > Europe
  • #67 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Europe

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stratospherically Sublime, January 26, 2006

By 

Northwest Hiker (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Caldecott Honor Book) (Hardcover)

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mon Dieu! Flying French Sheep, December 20, 2007

By 

Leah M. Brown "Leah Marie Brown, Author" (Mentally in Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Caldecott Honor Book) (Hardcover)

Hot Air: The Mostly True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride is about . . . well, the title pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

I wanted to love this book because it is about two things that are very important to my life: French History (I am an author of the subject) and aviation (I have been married to a pilot for almost 20 years). However, I just didn't LOVE this book.

The writing was not clever or catchy, no fun repetitive phrases or colorful words that would engage young readers. Frankly, the story is bland, boring. I also found the different sizes of typeset annoying. The most important negative, however, is that the author contends Benjamin Franklin was at the hot air balloon ride over Versailles. This is not true. Benjamin Franklin witnessed early hydrogen balloon experiments.

Now, for the positive. The illustrations in Hot Air are absolutely beautiful, full of bold, lively colors that reminds me of a bright sunny day in a garden in Paris. I love, love the colors this illustrator used. I also like the back leaf information about the history of ballooning.

If you would like a children's book about the first manned hot air balloon flight, I highly recommend Mouton's Impossible Dream by Anik Scannell McGrory, which is a fun book to read...a sure hit with young readers.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Barnyard Animals Aloft, January 30, 2006

By 

HenderHouse (Libertyville, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Caldecott Honor Book) (Hardcover)

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.