Author: Gerald Durrell
Year: 1987
Reading Level: Intermediate
Genre: Adventure
Plot Summary: The three Dollybutt (really) siblings--Emma, Conrad and Ivan--are understandably surprised when their Great-Uncle Lancelot shows up on their lawn in his enormous hot air balloon house, the Belladonna. He quickly enlists the children's help in finding his lost brother Perceval and they set off to find him in the Belladonna. They travel around the world in the balloon following Perceval's trail, frequently stopping to question the local animals on his whereabouts.
Red Flags: Heavy handed environmental message
My Rating: C. Illustrations=nice. Story=bland. I'm not sure which annoyed me more--how obviously the animal factoids were shoehorned in or how obnoxiously heavy handed the environmental message was. It's great that Gerald Durrell is a leading naturalist and whatnot but a storyteller he is not.
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