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!

**Kirkus Best Books of the Year (2013)** **Time Magazine 10 Top Nonfiction Books of 2013** **The New Republic Best Books of 2013** In this heart-lifting chronicle, Richard Holmes, author of the best-selling The Age of Wonder, follows the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, the daring and enigmatic men and women who risked their lives to take to the air (or fall into the sky). Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of our planet is a compelling adventure that only Holmes could tell. His accounts of the early Anglo-French balloon rivalries, the crazy firework flights of the beautiful Sophie Blanchard, the long-distance voyages of the American entrepreneur John Wise and French photographer Felix Nadar are dramatic and exhilarating. Holmes documents as well the balloons used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the Civil War (including a flight taken by George Armstrong Custer); the legendary tale of at least sixty-seven manned balloons that escaped from Paris (the first successful civilian airlift in history) during the Prussian siege of 1870-71; the high-altitude exploits of James Glaisher (who rose) seven miles above the earth without oxygen, helping to establish the new science of meteorology); and how Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work. A seamless fusion of history, art, science, biography, and the metaphysics of flights, Falling Upwards explores the interplay between technology and imagination. And through the strange allure of these great balloonists, it offers a masterly portrait of human endeavor, recklessness, and vision. (With 24 pages of color illustrations, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.)

Presents math concepts and exercises to help describe the development, mechanics, components, and uses of a hot air balloon.

Have you ever seen big balloons taking people for a ride? Look at these hot air balloons flying up in the sky. They look like all kinds of different things. Reading Level 6/F&P Level D

A charming animal adventure story that shows how an act of kindness can be returned when in need. Filled with beautiful illustrations and details that children can search for. One day, Raccoon helps an eagle chick back into their nest and it makes Raccoon wish she could fly. She goes to sleep and flies in her dreams. Suddenly, she is woken by a noise – it is an amazing hot air balloon. It lands and she sees an opportunity for adventure. She climbs in and nibbles away the ropes. Soon she is flying! What an adventure but Raccoon soon realizes that she is not actually sure how she can get down... Luckily, the mother eagle sees her and enlists the help of other birds to drop stones in the basket until the hot air balloon gently drifts down. Raccoon thinks she is finished with adventure – until she sees a speed boat! This simple but stunning book is perfect for storytime. There are so many details that can be pointed out and discussed. A real treasure of a book.

In this story based on true events, a thirteen-year-old apprentice takes the first manned hot air balloon flight in America and gains new insight into life's possibilities.

Find out how these beautiful balloons float through the air and discover what makes them fly.

A perfectly age-appropriate introduction to reading informational text, the Let's Race series brings the excitement of vehicles and racing to kids just learning to read. Up-close action photographs, carefully leveled text, and controlled vocabulary provide reading practice about "real stuff" for emergent readers. A photo-illustrated book for beginning readers that tells the story of a hot-air balloon rally. Who will drop the marker the closest? Includes a photo diagram.

If you go outside on a windy day, you realize just how strong air can be. It can lift a kite high in the sky and grab onto a balloon and carry it away. But even when the air is calm, you can feel its strength and resistance when you move. How Do Aircraft Fly? reveals the science behind air pressure and flying everything from hot-air balloons to helicopters to jet aircraft through eye-catching full-color photograph and illustrations, as well as through textual explanations of real-world examples.

The world is on the move. Animals,plants, and manmade vehicles—all are equipped to move in different ways. Learn all about things on the move—from snails and manta rays to cars and spacecrafts.