A King Seen from the Sky

French author-illustrator Gibert (The King Is Naked!) puts a fanciful spin on a historical event with the story of how, in 1783 at Versailles, a sheep, duck, and hen became the first living creatures to fly in an aircraft%E2%80%94a hot-air balloon. Floating above, the animals see their royal environs in a new light: "From way up high, the elegant palace looks like three huge shoeboxes! And the crowd is just a handful of gravel tossed on the ground." When Louis XVI learns that from the sky he appeared to them "no larger than the nose of a rat%E2%80%94or even smaller, the eye of a mouse," the enraged king sends them to the Bastille. Gibert pictures the weeping animals in jagged blue silhouettes, surrounded by darkness, but with the storming of the prison on July 14, 1789, they become heroes of the French Revolution and fashion a new aircraft. The fresh perspective the animals gain during their aerial journey dovetails perfectly with the book's revolutionary theme, while Gibert's rough-hewn figures and dramatic color contrasts suggest the influences of both Matisse and modern graphic design. Ages 5%E2%80%937. (Sept.)