Review: How Do Hot Air Balloons Work? by Buffy Silverman

 

978-076-138-9699

 

As home to the White Sands Balloon Invitational every year, our area sees its share of the colorful creatures drifting overhead. Our family has spent several mornings enjoying a breakfast picnic on the front lawn (while the neighborhood dogs go berserkers defending hearth and home from the big noisy 'birds'). C.'s room was decorated in hot air balloons until about a year ago. Many area residents have slowed down on the way to work to avoid/watch a balloon landing. In short: this book will be checked out the minute I finish cataloguing it.

 

Parents and teachers will find this an excellent resource for explaining the basics of ballooning, from ascending and descending, to chase crews, to wind direction at different altitudes. Just enough technical information that children can get a grasp of the basics, without overwhelming them. A page at the back includes some historical tidbits, and another includes web sites and books for further exploration.

 

Of course, considering the subject matter, it is not hard to come up with plenty of bright, beautiful pictures for illustration. There are also close-ups of some of the equipment used - but no real shots of the view from above! That is the only thing I would have liked to see - otherwise, another excellent nonfiction choice for home or library.

 

Thank-you to Lerner for the review copy. For more great nonfiction books, head over to the Jean Little Library today.