Deb’s Dozen: Sister and brother, aloft in a runaway balloon. What will they do?

Mark Wainwright wrote a delightful middle-grade story about Jenny, thirteen, and her brother, Cole, nine, and according to Jenny, a rotten brat. Jenny and Cole fought like typical brother and sister, but when Cole tossed away a piece of jewelry precious to Jenny, she had had it!

Flying in a hot air balloon? What fun! The kids felt excited and stood in the basket of the balloon while their parents and Mr. Weber finished up on the preparations for launch. Cole, showing off, accidentally hit the lever that turned the burner on. The balloon filled with more and more air and started to lift off. Jenny and Cole, terrified, watched in horror as the balloon tore loose from the moorings and went higher and higher, quickly lifting out of the reach of their parents. They flew alone in a runaway balloon!

I loved how Mr. Wainwright wrote Jenny and Cole. At times, I wanted to send both of them to a time-out corner. Jenny was so mad at Cole and rehearsed how bad he’d been. Cole was just plain scared. You’ll enjoy getting to know the children and reading about their very scary adventure.
A great story to read aloud or for older kids to read on their own. Five stars.

Mark Wainwright traveled to over thirty countries and had adventures of his own. He homeschooled through the Abeka Academy when his parents were missionaries in Papua New Guinea. No electricity in the village meant he watched his school videos on a solar-powered TV. Now he uses the adventures he had as fodder for the stories he writes. Trapped in a Hot Air Balloon came out of a flight  at age twelve at a balloon festival. Mark and Kari (his wife) have two children. Megan, 6th grade, and Tyler, 5th grade.

The author gave me a copy of Trapped in a Runaway Balloon, but he did not require me to write a favorable review