Review by Booklist Review
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 Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
First-time children's author Busby's (Exterminating Angels) detail-rich biography of Wilbur and Orville Wright will hook aviation buffs from the first soaring sentence ("Let her go, Orv!"). With clear analysis ("The Wright Brothers had one great advantage over other pioneers of aviation: they built bikes") and a fluid writing style, Busby recounts the brothers' early research and, vividly, their experiences in Kitty Hawk, N.C., where on December 17, 1903, Wilbur was aloft for 59 seconds. The book also explores the Wrights after Kitty Hawk, as they battled for public recognition, eventually becoming the "First Heroes of the New Century," and continued to design airplanes. Tangential topics-a profile of 19th-century aviation innovator Otto Lilienthal; technical explanations of wing warping, the 1903 Flyer, etc.- are placed in cogent sidebars that provide bonus information without slowing the story. A large square trim (approximately 11.5" x 11.5") shows to advantage the marvelous array of illustrations, ranging from Craig's (Attack on Pearl Harbor) active, in-the-moment paintings imagining the Wrights' lives, to diagrams, postcards and historic photographs, including sepia-toned shots of the first flight. A superlative mix of visuals and text. Ages 8-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This oversize volume recounts the Wright brothers' early interest in flying machines, their first flights at Kitty Hawk, and the international fame that followed. Illustrated with handsome color paintings, photographs, and reproductions, the book also includes a few diagrams that clarify the scientific principles of flight. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A lavishly illustrated picture book joins archival material, diagrams, and original paintings to tell the story of how the Wright brothers invented the airplane. The text briefly covers their lives before Kitty Hawk, focusing narrowly on the period from 1899 to 1903 as they experimented and refined their designs in pursuit of a self-propelled flying machine. The sprightly, lucid text takes the brothers back and forth from their Dayton, Ohio, bicycle shop to Kitty Hawk, quoting from their letters and from the recollections of witnesses to give a terrific sense of immediacy. Sidebars and diagrams explain the various innovations the brothers tried: from the wing and rudder controls on the actual Flyers to the wind tunnel they built in their workshop to test aerodynamics. One further chapter and an epilogue detail the brothers' activities subsequent to that history-making flight: their efforts to patent and market their invention and the founding of the Wright Company, which designed aircraft for both military and civilian uses. Busby's text, his first for children, deftly combines technical detail with narrative thrust; Jack McMaster's diagrams complement the technical descriptions beautifully, while Craig's (Attack on Pearl Harbor, not reviewed) lush oils add dramatic flair. One significant flaw is that many of the primary sources are quoted blind, with no indication in the text or back matter where the observations came from (a stellar exception to this is the citation of Orville's letters home from Kitty Hawk). Two pages of back matter provide a chronology, select glossary, bibliography (which includes books for younger and older readers as well as Web sites), picture credits, and index. (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-12)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
