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A VOYAGE IN THE CLOUDS

Name: A VOYAGE IN THE CLOUDS
Author: Matthew Olshan
ISBN: 978-0-374-32954-9

THE (MOSTLY) TRUE STORY OF THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT BY BALLOON IN 1785

by Matthew Olshan ; illustrated by Sophie Blackall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 11, 2016

Subtitle notwithstanding, crafted more to amuse than edify.

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This embellished tale is loosely based on a true event: the first international balloon flight, from England to France, in 1785.

Pierre Blanchard, a Frenchman with design and flight experience, makes the crossing with his English financial backer, Dr. John Jeffries. The two don’t get along well, and their invented squabbling drives much of the dialogue-heavy narrative. Their historical flight suffers a near miss during its two-hour, 47–minute crossing. For dramatic flair, Olshan invents Blanchard’s “little nap” and Jeffries’ bungled attempt to relieve pressure in the balloon. With the balloon losing elevation, the men shed sandbags, the winglike oars, rudder, anchor, violin, and most of their clothing. They even pee over the sides. (That’s apparently a documented fact). The near-sinking engenders a shift, with the two men cooperative and mutually congratulatory, as they disembark—in their underdrawers and clutching their respective pet dogs—to cheering crowds. Blackall’s signature watercolors, featuring pale, pink-cheeked, white figures, stylized period clothing, and pastel backgrounds, alternate with inked comics-styled panels conjuring such events as the precipitous near-sinking and the balloon’s tree-snagged landing. The men’s disagreeable carping, which preoccupies much of the story, ultimately diminishes its child appeal.

Subtitle notwithstanding, crafted more to amuse than edify. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-374-32954-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MIGHTY LALOUCHE
by Matthew Olshan ; illustrated by Sophie Blackall

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FLOWN SKY
by Matthew Olshan

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TINY LITTLE ROCKET

by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2018

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off.

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This rocket hopes to take its readers on a birthday blast—but there may or may not be enough fuel.

Once a year, a one-seat rocket shoots out from Earth. Why? To reveal a special congratulatory banner for a once-a-year event. The second-person narration puts readers in the pilot’s seat and, through a (mostly) ballad-stanza rhyme scheme (abcb), sends them on a journey toward the sun, past meteors, and into the Kuiper belt. The final pages include additional information on how birthdays are measured against the Earth’s rotations around the sun. Collingridge aims for the stars with this title, and he mostly succeeds. The rhyme scheme flows smoothly, which will make listeners happy, but the illustrations (possibly a combination of paint with digital enhancements) may leave the viewers feeling a little cold. The pilot is seen only with a 1960s-style fishbowl helmet that completely obscures the face, gender, and race by reflecting the interior of the rocket ship. This may allow readers/listeners to picture themselves in the role, but it also may divest them of any emotional connection to the story. The last pages—the backside of a triple-gatefold spread—label the planets and include Pluto. While Pluto is correctly labeled as a dwarf planet, it’s an unusual choice to include it but not the other dwarfs: Ceres, Eris, etc. The illustration also neglects to include the asteroid belt or any of the solar system’s moons.

A fair choice, but it may need some support to really blast off. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: July 31, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-338-18949-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: David Fickling/Phoenix/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LIONHEART
by Richard Collingridge ; illustrated by Richard Collingridge

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TOW TRUCK JOE

From the Tow Truck Joe series

by June Sobel ; illustrated by Patrick Corrigan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019

A delight for car and truck fans young and old.

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Don’t cry over spilled milk. Add crumbled cookies and freeze to make Cookie Crunch ice cream with your friends instead.

Tow truck Joe and his pup, Patch, roam Drivedale honking “Hello!” and helping vehicles (all are anthropomorphic) in trouble. They charge batteries and replace flat tires until “SCREECH! BANG! CRUNCH! CRASH” An accident! It appears the milk truck was going too fast and hit a cart full of cookies. What a mess! Traffic is at a standstill, but Joe, Patch, and all the other trucks help out. The cement mixer is ready. The bulldozer cleans up the cookie crumbles, and the grocery truck supplies sugar and vanilla. Patch adds milk from the milk truck, and the mixer stirs everything up. An ice cream truck offers to freeze the mixture. Voila! Cookie Crunch ice cream! Slowly and carefully, all the vehicles follow Joe and Patch to the garage to end the busy day with scoops of their delicious ice cream creation. Related in an easy, conversational rhyme with clear and bright illustrations, this story is a good read-aloud, but it’s an even better one-on-one read. Children and adults need to pore over the written puns in the illustrations. Signs such as “BIG WHEEL COOKIES—THEY TASTE WHEELY GREAT” and “KNEAD FOR SPEED BAKERY” are too good to miss.

A delight for car and truck fans young and old. (Picture book. 4-8)