Blimps

A blimp, a huge helium-filled balloon-like airship, begins as an immense polyester bag. As it is filled with helium, it begins to rise, eventually floating 1000 to 3000 feet above the ground. But a lot happens between the time a blimp is first inflated and when it begins its first flight. Munro, the author/illustrator of The Inside-Outside Book of New York City and other titles , has filled this book with facts and information. She explains, in a readable style, how blimps are made (including the installation of the gondola, where passengers and crew travel), manned, maneuvered and moored, and addresses such questions as why blimps are so big and what it is like to ride in one. But it is the ink and watercolor illustrations that best capture the serenity and weightlessness of these dirigibles; Munro's portraits of these beauties in flight will astonish and awe readers. Ages 7-12. (Oct.)