How Do Hot Air Balloons Work? (Lightning Bolt Books ® ― How Flight Works)

Silverman, Buffy

ISBN 10: 0761389695 ISBN 13: 9780761389699

Publisher: Lerner Publications ™, 2013

Synopsis

Hot air balloons are huge and colorful. They're lots of fun to watch. But how do they fly? And how do people control where the hot air balloon goes? Read this book to find out!

About this title

About the Author

Buffy Silverman is the author of many books about nature and science for children. She also enjoys writing poetry for children. Buffy is lucky to live in a rural area of Michigan where inspiration is just outside the window. The sun shimmers on Stony Lake. A great blue heron flies low over the swamp. Black squirrels scamper across oak branches, stuffing leaves in their mouths and bringing them to a hollow. The animals that share her yard inspire stories and poems. With every book and article she writes, she learns more about the world.

Review

"How hard is a hot air balloon to understand? It's a balloon, right? It floats upward, right? Au contraire, says this impressively cogent entry into the How Flight Works series. Using playfully arranged text and the big, bright photos that have become trademark to the Lightning Bolt Books brand, Silverman explains the engines, cords, and vents that make flight possible, as well as how meteorological study compensates for the unnerving fact that 'balloons cannot be steered.' (One page illustrates how hot air balloons 'float like dandelion seeds on a breezy day.') Info on safety, passenger loads, and balloon storage lead to a final diagram labeling the parts of a passenger balloon, and a page of deeper facts, making this an airy, swift―but still quite informational―package." ―Booklist

(Journal)

"Though narrow of topic, these introductions combine plenty of big, bright color photos with explanatory texts that, for all their brevity, will give new readers healthy doses of specific information. Hang Gliders, for instance, offers not only a tally of the required gear but also covers techniques for steering, changing speeds, and landing safely. Both the narratives and images feature men and women in roughly equal numbers―and, even more laudably, Space Vehicles highlights a Russian Soyuz and its launch vehicle rather than now-obsolete American spacecraft, though the Hubble Space Telescope does make a cameo. Each volume ends with a labeled diagram, a page of 'Fun Facts,' and a list of print and Web resources." ―School Library Journal, Series Made Simple

(Journal)

"The science and engineering behind the workings of each of the flying machines represented is described in clear, precise language within the developmental understanding of the intended grade levels. Readers learn about how each device gets into the air, stays there, is steered, and landed. A diagram of the equipment is a unique feature of each book. Large size font and sidebars make the text easily readable. Full-color illustrations are included, many full page. The authors make an effort to keep the photos and text gender neutral. Although formulaic in presentation, the series fills a hole in most elementary collections. Young boys eager for nonfiction books will grab these titles." ―Library Media Connection

(Journal)

Edition details

• Publisher: Lerner Publications ™
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0761389695
• ISBN 13: 9780761389699
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 32