The Amazing Flight of Darius Frobisher Book

When Darius Frobisher's father flies off in a hot air balloon and doesn't come back, the boy's happy, carefree life suddenly comes to an end. He is torn away from his beloved babysitter and sent to live with his notoriously nasty Aunt Ida. Most of his waking time is spent trying to dodge the teenage boy next door, who is home from military school and hungry to do horrible things to someone younger than himself. Darius sees a ray of hope when he finds a rusty old bicycle in the basement and begins to repair it in secret. Could this be the first step toward a reunion with Miss Hasting? Then one day he is startled to see an old man with long flowing hair riding a bicycle across the sky! Now he knows what he has to do to get away from his miserable life.

Children's Literature

When eleven-year-old Darius is suddenly orphaned, life changes quickly. The lawyers in charge of his father's estate send off his beloved housekeeper, Miss Hastings, and determine that Darius will go and live with Aunt Inga. But Aunt Inga doesn't like children, and her approach to taking care of Darius leaves a lot to be desired. It is not until Darius finds a rusting bike in Aunt Inga's basement and then runs into the mysterious Mr. Daedalus that he begins to make a plan for escaping from Aunt Inga and the neighborhood bully, Anthony. As the bike repairs take shape, Darius learns a great deal about himself, Aunt Inga, his father, and Mr. Daedalus; he also begins to realize that even someone of his age is able to make a difference in the world. Many aspects of this book, especially the narrator's voice, remind me of the "Lemony Snicket" series but lack the originality of those books. Nonetheless, younger male readers will likely appreciate Darius's bike-flying adventure.