Up, Up in a Balloon

Book excerpt: Young scientists will get both inspiration and giggles from this humorous but true tale of early experiments with flying. The book tells how the first successful venture into human flight came about because of two French brothers, several paper bags, heated air, leaky cloth, hydrogen gas, frightened farmers, a duck, a rooster, a sheep, and a brave friend of the French king. In addition to introducing scientific processes and principles of flight, Up, Up in a Balloon may prompt budding inventors to try, try again—just as the Montgolfier brothers did when they launched the first hot air balloons more than 200 years ago. Up, Up in a Balloon is part of the I Wonder Why book series, written to ignite the curiosity of children in grades K–6 while encouraging them to become avid readers. These books explore the marvels of geology, land forms, weather, environments, and other phenomena related to science and nature. Included in each volume is a Parent/Teacher Handbook with coordinating activities. The I Wonder Why series is written by an award-winning science educator and published by NSTA Kids, a division of NSTA Press.