From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-This oversized volume captures the Wright brothers' monumental achievement 100 years ago. The pages are filled with large, sumptuous paintings that add a flavor of realism and an almost nostalgic feel. In addition, well-chosen images and reproductions help to inform the text. Archival photos from the Wright brothers' own collection and diagrams created by a mechanical engineer/aeronautics expert do much to help readers understand the concepts of flight. The story of these inventive siblings has been told before and often. This book engages readers quickly and maintains interest throughout. On the morning of December 17, 1903, Orville flew 852 feet and for 59 seconds in the first ever manned and powered flight. While some accounts stop with this achievement, Busby goes on to describe other flights and the company the Wrights founded supplying licensing designs for airplane manufacturers. The stress of watching those patents, the author speculates, may have contributed to Wilbur's ill health and early death at age 45. Orville, working alone, went on to research and experiment, lending insights into developing the automatic pilot and wing flaps for bombers and the space shuttle. This well-researched and exceptionally appealing title joins Wendie Old's To Fly (Clarion, 2002) and Mary Collins's Airborne (National Geographic, 2003) to kick off the centennial celebration. Take flight!-Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 3-5. From playing with a whirligig as children to running a bicycle shop and later becoming the fathers of manned, powered flight, the story of the Wright brothers has been told before and will be told again during this centennial year of their achievement. Informative and well illustrated, this large-format book provides a solid introduction to the brothers' lives and accomplishments, and, more than in some biographies for young readers, clearly explains the challenges they faced at different stages of the
Flyer's development. The volume's effective layout and colorful presentation will attract young readers. Its oversize format (11 inches tall and 11 1/2 inches wide) offers plenty of space for the colorful paintings that dramatize events as well as the many period photographs that accompany the text. One useful feature is a large, well-labeled picture clearly showing the structure of the Wrights' 1903
Flyer. This effective presentation ends with a chronology, a glossary, and a list of books and Web sites.
Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
