You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I read this book and loved it in grade six, but after reading it again, I found flaws within it. I couldn't stand the simplistic writing! If you're going to write that simplistically, it should be good. Repetitive. That's what it was. The story was worse than I remembered, and the characters were, quite frankly, annoying. The relief factor was the diamond mines! I loved them. That's all that bumped it up to 2 stars, honestly.
Early on in the book it mentions "Around the World in Eighty Days," and I'm pretty sure the author took any number of cues from that famous book when writing this--but all in a good way. A highly enjoyable adventure story with more than its share of science fiction aspects. I wish there was a sequel; I'd love to read it!
Professor Sherman has a rather unique retirement plan: set off to balloon around the world, all by himself. He has a giant balloon made with a wicker house in lieu of a basket, studies, plans and provisions, ends teaching arithmatic to children, and on August 15, 1883, he takes off from his home town of San Francisco with little fanfare. He expects to be gone a year, letting the winds take him where they will, but at least initially across he Pacific Ocean. Three weeks later, he's pulled from the Atlantic just west of England, barely alive, surrounded by bits of wreakage and 20 deflating balloons. Once recovered, he tells his story and it is a doozy.
Most of the story involves his forced landing on Krakatoa just days after leaving the US, where he finds a most unusual, even fantastical settlement of 20 American families. It's quite imaginative and something I imagine children just adore reading about. I certainly would have, given how fascinated I was by the tale of the Swiss Family Robinson. But alas, we barely get a tour of this fantasy when Krakatoa erupts, on August 26, 1883.
This was a lot of fun, even all the fantastical inventions and plot devices woven around ballooning and the biggest volcanic eruption in history. The copy I read was heavily illustrated with ink drawings that alas, were poorly digitally transferred into my ebook, often looking like little more than black blobs of ink. Some day I'll have to leaf through a printed version to see how good they really are. Given how high quality the digitization of graphic novels and comics are, I have to knock at least a star off my rating for the poor quality.
Most of the story involves his forced landing on Krakatoa just days after leaving the US, where he finds a most unusual, even fantastical settlement of 20 American families. It's quite imaginative and something I imagine children just adore reading about. I certainly would have, given how fascinated I was by the tale of the Swiss Family Robinson. But alas, we barely get a tour of this fantasy when Krakatoa erupts, on August 26, 1883.
This was a lot of fun, even all the fantastical inventions and plot devices woven around ballooning and the biggest volcanic eruption in history. The copy I read was heavily illustrated with ink drawings that alas, were poorly digitally transferred into my ebook, often looking like little more than black blobs of ink. Some day I'll have to leaf through a printed version to see how good they really are. Given how high quality the digitization of graphic novels and comics are, I have to knock at least a star off my rating for the poor quality.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It took us way too long to read this one, meaning that I wish I'd read it to the kids sooner! Super fun story with a little bit of humor, a little bit of adventure, and a little bit of science fiction all rolled into one.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ugh, this was hard to read aloud. My kids loved the inventions, but it was a slog for me. I will not read again.
I am not quite sure how to rate this, as it is one of those books I remember so fondly from childhood and all my kids adored it, and yet I felt a bit of letdown that it wasn't as endearing as I remembered. This was part of our homeschool studies and did provide lots of talking points for geography, geology, and other science topics, and all my kids gave it at least 4 stars. It just read clunkier than I remembered, and it wasn't love for me the second go.
I read this quite a while ago and have nothing but fond memories of it. I loved the adventure of it and the quirky lifestyle of those living on Krakatoa.
I read this book a very long time ago, when I was in elementary or middle school. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read because of its presentation of fantastic yet plausible ideas. I had forgotten the title of the book but the ideas stuck with me - so that at the age of 25 I suddenly thought one day - "what was that book called, the one about people living on an island with restaurants representing all different cuisines of the world? I want to read that book again!"
Needless to say this book is deserving of 5 stars for being so unforgettable even 15 or so years after my first time reading it.
Needless to say this book is deserving of 5 stars for being so unforgettable even 15 or so years after my first time reading it.