Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Flying bears and houses that float? Oh, my! Today we are sharing two new picture books that were released last week. One has a flying bear in a hot air balloon, and the other is a wordless book about a house that floated to get moved. To go with our review we are sharing a roundup of hot air balloon crafts. The first book we will share is the wordless one. It is The House That Floated by Guojing. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

About the Book:

A stunningly beautiful picture book from a critically acclaimed artist that follows a family who lives in a house by the sea as water levels start to rise.

In this gorgeous, wordless story, a family makes their home on a cliff overlooking the sea. They live peacefully, spending their days exploring the ocean and filling their home with warmth and laughter. But as seasons pass, the waters rise, bringing the tides closer to the clifftop and the house. When a powerful storm rages and giant waves engulf the cliff, the family must leave—but not without their beloved home.

Inspired by true stories of communities relocating houses, award-winning artist Guojing evokes a family’s ingenuity and determination to save their home in a moving portrait of empathy, love and strength. Through dreamy ocean scenes and vibrant tones of red, pinks and blues, this striking narrative offers an adventure story with a dramatic and glorious ending.

From Me:

Over the years we have shared several wordless books. Our years of going to a Waldorf School taught us sharing wordless books with young children is recommended. It helps develop their imaginations as well as storytelling and noticing details. In this book a family lives in a house on a cliff overlooking the ocean. They often go out in the ocean and help the ocean life and enjoy their surroundings. However the water levels are rising, and the storms are getting worse. After a very bad storm they decide it is time to move to a safer location. They decide to move their house. They move it over the water to a village near the ocean.

The book shares a growing family who enjoys their environment and each other. Their house is full of laughter and love. Throughout the story the water gets higher and higher, and the reader sees how dangerous the last storm is. Being wordless each reader can interpret the beautiful illustrations in their own way, but the story is clear that the house gets moved more inland and on a mainland. The new land has a lighthouse, stairs up the cliff and people to help get the house up on the land. This book could lead to discuss why the water is rising. This conversation will result in global warming and hopefully what each person can do to try to stop it.

Conversations about the technology used would be interesting as well or why the family chooses to move to this different land and not just more inland on their cliff. The illustrations are beautiful and detailed but not over detailed. It is truly an interesting wordless book.

Our next book is a fun book featuring animals acting like people. Bear decides to fly in a hot air balloon. The book is Bear in the Air by Allison Wortche and illustrated by Cat Min. It is recommended for ages 3 to 7.

About the Book:

Bear proudly soars above his friends in a hot air balloon… until he realizes he doesn’t know how to land! This sweet picture book celebrates both independence and knowing when to ask for help.

Bear is on an adventure in a hot air balloon… all by himself!

As he flies proudly above his friends—Moose in the lake, his sisters in a tall tree—he feels independent and brave.

But, when he’s ready to rejoin his friends on the ground, he realizes he has a problem: he doesn’t know how to get down!

Not all adventures go according to plan, and Bear will have to work up a different kind of courage to ask his friends for help. And of course they’ll all join together to bring him home!

From Me:

Bear is so proud to be flying in the air. He waves to his friends and tells them he can't stop right away. Then he realizes that he wants to come down and doesn't know how. When he tells the wind he doesn't know how to land, his voice echos throughout the land and his friends come to his aid. It is a sweet and fun story.

Has it ever happened to you? You are so proud of something that you are doing and then you realize that you really don't want to be doing it anymore. This is what Bear is going through. As he sees his friends, he realizes that they may be more comfortable than he is in the hot air balloon. Then he realizes he doesn't know how to get down. Now he is scared. His friends however won't let him get stuck in the air. They help him get down and celebrate with him. The pages are colorful and full of different types of animals. It is a story of friendship and fun. Kids will enjoy the story, and the "trouble" Bear gets into.

To go with this book, I thought it would be fun to have a hot air balloon craft. I wanted to share one Hazel did years ago. She took a class at Paper Source back when I worked there.

To make it, they used a large circular hole punch on some fine paper. Then these circles are paper mached to a balloon to make the balloon of the hot air balloon. Do not cover the entire balloon since you just want the shape of a hot air balloon. Once it is dry you can pop the balloon and remove the remnants. Punch small holes into it near the edge and use string to attach the balloon to a small paper cup (the basket). I love how Hazel's came out!