This book chronicles Sophie Blanchard, the first woman to go solo in a hot air balloon. She was one of the first female aeronauts. Little is known of her life before marrying Jean Pierre Blanchard, a famous aerialist of the time. This is a great beginning look at woman who dared to do what many thought only men could do. Finding out that Sophie died so young, due to a fire and a fall from her balloon, is heartbreaking but also real. The illustrations are lovely and give an old-world field to match the old world setting of the book.