For more than a century before airplanes, people explored the sky in balloons. From 1783 to the early 1900s, aeronauts flew into storms, crossed large bodies of water, sailed over enemy armies, and soared to deadly altitudes. Illustrated in full color with dramatuc period artwork, here are the stories of the pioneers of human flight, such as daredevil Sophie Blanchard from Napoleon’s France, and Solmon Andree, who lead an aerial assault on the North Pole in 1897.
Adventures
Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!
Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa. But she is spending Christmas with her granny in Canada. She cant wait to see snow for the first time! And how will it feel to be so far from home?
The Death-Defying Pepper Roux
Having been raised believing he will die before he reaches the age of fourteen, Pepper Roux runs away on his fourteenth birthday in an attempt to elude his fate, assumes another identity, and continues to try to outrun death, no matter the consequences.
The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon
Crackpot notions, community spirit, and sky-high aspirations transform a quiet boy’s life in this whimsical tale from the stellar team of David Almond and Polly Dunbar. There are some strange ideas floating around in Paul’s apartment block. There’s Mabel, who now calls herself Molly and whose brother hides under a paper bag. Then there’s Clarence, the poodle who thinks he can fly. But the strangest notion of all is Paul’s. You see, Paul believes that the moon is not the moon but a great hole in the sky. And he knows that sausages are better than war. How on earth (or not) will he find out if he is bonkers or a genius? With a few equally bonkers (or genius) helpers and a very long ladder, that’s how! From a master of magical realism and a celebrated artist comes another delightfully outrageous expedition.
April and Esme Tooth Fairies
Two young tooth fairies make their first lost-tooth collection. April Underhill, seven-year-old tooth fairy, gets a call on her cell phone. April and her little sister, Esme, must convince Mom and Dad to let them take on the task all by themselves. But soon, two tiny fairies fly off into the night, over a highway of thundering eighteen-wheelers, eager to prove how grown up they can be. As always, the charm is in the visual details: the pony-tailed, winged dad in baggy jeans; the snug fairy house with teeth dangling from the rafters like wind chimes. Once again, Bob Graham has crafted a tale of heartwarming adventure, magical yet very real.
The Shadow Hunt
Wolf is on the run from the oppressive monastery where he was raised, from the ghosts and demons that haunt the windswept moors of Devil’s Edge, and from the shadows in the landscape that resemble the Devil himself. When Wolf rescues a strange child on Devil’s Edge, he takes her to a grand castle hoping to win the favor of its ruler. There he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a girl named Nest, and he thinks he’s finally found a place to call home. Wolf is determined to fit in, but not everything is as it seems at the castle. Dark forces are conspiring against Wolf and Nest, and a sinister enemy is looming closer than they could ever realize. With lies masquerading as reality, will Wolf and Nest learn who they can trust before it’s too late? Critically acclaimed author Katherine Langrish has created a wonderfully spooky and richly imagined world of ghosts and magical creatures, where good may be evil and light may give way to dark.
Fever Crumb
Fever Crumb is a girl who has been adopted and raised by Dr. Crumb, a member of the Order of Engineers, where she serves as apprentice. Soon though, she must say good-bye to Dr. Crumb–nearly the only person she’s ever known–to assist archeologist Kit Solent on a top-secret project. As her work begins, Fever is plagued by memories that are not her own, and Kit seems to have a particular interest in finding out what they are. Fever has also been singled out by city dwellers, who declare that she is part Scriven. The Scriveners, not human, ruled the city some years ago but were hunted down and killed in a victorious uprising by the people. If there are any remaining Scriven, they are too be eliminated. All Fever knows is what she’s been told: that she is an orphan. Is Fever a Scriven? Whose memories does she hold? Haunting, arresting, and astonishingly original, Fever Crumb will delight and surprise readers at every fast-paced, breathless turn.
Everlasting
Sailing aboard her father’s ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a lady in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set to marry a man she doesn’t love to preseve her social standing. On her last voyage before the wedding, Camille learns the mother she has always believed dead is alive and in Australia. When their Sydney-bound ship goes down in a gale, and her father dies, Camille sets out to find her mother with a map believed to lead to a stone that once belonged to the legendary civilization of immortals. The stone can bring someone back from the dead. Unfortunately, her father’s adversary is also on the hunt for the stone, and she must race him to it. The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor and her father’s first mate, who is in love with Camille and whom she is drawn to despite his low social standing and her pending wedding vows. With an Australian card shark acting as their guide, Camille eludes murderous bushrangers, traverses dangerous highlands, evades a curse placed on the stone, and unravels the mystery behind her mother’s disappearance sixteen years earlier. But when another death shakes her conviction to resurrect her father, Camille must choose what and who matters most.
The Crowfield Curse
An angel is buried behind the abbey! It’s 1347, and Will, an orphan boy, lives and works as an apprentice of the Crowfield monks. Sent into the forest to gather firewood, he stumbles across a trapped, wounded creature no bigger than a cat.The little goblin shares a terrible secret: Buried deep in the snow behind the monastery is an angel. But, Will wonders, how can an angel die? And what does this angel have to do with the history of Crowfield? When two cloaked strangers show up and start asking questions, Will is drawn into a dangerous world of Old Magic.
The Celestial Globe
When Prince Rodolfo’s monsters attack her, Petra Kronos is spirited away to London. As she struggles to escape, Neel and Tomik sail the high seas, in search of her. Though separated by many miles, the three friends draw closer together in this sequel to The Cabinet of Wonders, called “astonishingly accomplished” by Publishers Weekly.