Character Analysis
Grandfather, Dreamer, Hot-Air Balloon Enthusiast
Benjamin Malloy is one of those guys who feel like the rules don't always apply to him, because after all he's way too smart to care. He takes a hot-air balloon (a notoriously unreliable way to travel) on a journey around the world because it sounds fun, and when he's waylaid by uncooperative winds during his travels, he cheerfully jots down all of his observations in a journal. Needless to say, when he discovers a brand new species flying around, he's ecstatic.
Benjamin Malloy is the person, through his wild tales of adventure, who has inspired Kate to pursue her dreams of archeological zoology. It's really a shame that he gets killed off right at the beginning of the story—and we think he'd be pretty darn proud of Kate at the end of the book.