The glorious flight Across the Channel with Louis Blériot, July 25, 1909

The Provensens' sublime picture book (winner of the 1984 Caldecott Medal) about French aviation pioneer Blriot, the first man to fly across the English Channel, is once again available in hardcover. With breathtaking perspectives, gorgeous colors, engaging characters, and a tres droll text, the book not only transports readers to turn-of-the-twentieth-century France but also conveys the experience of flight with immediacy. martha v. parravano (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Factually accurate, yes--but also a witty pictorial reincarnation of Louis BlÉriot's first experience of an airship, his absoprtion in ""flying machines,"" and that first cross-Channel flight. . . in the BlÉriot XI. There's dash, style, and economy here--in both text and pictures. The Provensens narrate in an offhand present tense, with comments built in; the history of BlÉriot's aeronautical career is built in too; and because we first met him en famille, he is always, cannily, Papa BlÉriot. ""Papa has decided to learn to fly himself. BlÉriot III has a fine motor and a propeller, but it will not take off from the water. So Papa gives it two motors and two propellers to make BlÉriot IV. BlÉriot IV goes in beautiful circles. Papa is learning."" (BlÉriet V hops ""over the ground like a rabbit""; BlÉriot VI sails ""across a whole field before it hits a rock."") Against the vastness of sky and bare earth, the funny, flimsy machines and the funny, gesticulating figures make for exceptional visual drama, further heightened in the climactic airborne perspectives. But to the last celebration on the cliffs of Dover--BlÉriot again en famille--the illustrational tricks serve the creators' fond, amused conception of the subject. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.