Captain Arsenio: Inventions and (Mis)adventures in Flight [Hardcover]

Pablo Bernasconi (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Captain Arsenio was a curious man who liked, more than anything, to tinker and explore. One day in 1782, he decided that he would put his unusual skills to work in a most ambitious way: he would build a flying machine.

Despite a hodgepodge of materials (and a total unawareness of the laws of physics), Captain Arsenio aimed to get his feet off the ground and his head in the clouds—temporarily, at least. But would any of his crazy inventions ever achieve flight?

In this hilarious fictional account, Pablo Bernasconi imagines a legend in the making—a retired cheesemaker and scuba diver turned inventor who sets off to fly with the birds, in spite of himself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to this droll mock-biography, whimsically set in the 1780s, would-be aviator Captain Arsenio "had little knowledge of physics or mechanics,... he demonstrated great patience and determination" in his quest for flight. Mixed-media collages picture Arsenio with an egg-shaped head and toothy underbite, dressed in a thin leather helmet, slack gray coat and patched olive-drab pants; his sepia-inked sketchbook mimics Leonardo da Vinci's. The narration alternates between a deadpan retrospective voice ("He placed so much emphasis on getting off the ground that he forgot... how to keep himself in the air") and excerpts from Arsenio's gung-ho Flight Diary: "Running + wings = access to heaven. It cannot fail!" The book recalls six doomed experiments; from the Motocanary ("If I concentrate enough birds together, the sustaining force will help me win the clouds. It cannot fail!") to the wooden, hydrogen-powered Aerial Submarine ("I'm still climbing upward, but I can smell something burning"). Argentinian author-artist Bernasconi, a pilot himself, creates multi-stage diagrams to document Arsenio's flights, from takeoff to ascent to maximum height and crash-landing. The reiterated "It cannot fail!" and slapstick outcomes yield a cumulative hilarity, and the Captain's quixotic optimism is endearingly loony. Bernasconi's aviation spoof is hard to categorize but well worth a look. Ages 6-up. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-Bernasconi documents the exploits of an imaginary 18th-century experimental aviator, Captain Arsenio, explaining that the book's diagrams and quotations have been extracted from the inventor's diary. Six failed attempts to fly are described, including such innovations as the bird-powered Motocanary and the highly combustible Aerial Submarine. Each contraption is introduced with a brief paragraph of text, a large illustration, and a quotation. On the following spread, in a "Flight Diary," Arsenio details step by step how he operates that particular machine, becomes briefly airborne, and then inevitably falls to the ground. The collage artwork, which incorporates mostly metallic found objects such as springs and spoked wheels, features the determined but hapless adventurer rising and crashing in one spectacular disaster after another. Undaunted, he continues to proclaim that his next attempt "cannot fail." Rube Goldberg fanciers may be intrigued by these attempts and might even be inspired to sketch some of their own alternatives. However, for most readers, the repetitive crash-landing humor most likely will fall as flat as Arsenio's flights.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (May 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618507493
• ISBN-13: 978-0618507498
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,561,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The delightful inventions and (mis)adventures of Captain Arsenio, December 31, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Captain Arsenio: Inventions and (Mis)adventures in Flight (Hardcover)

Leonardo da Vinci has nothing on Captain Arsenio, a retired cheese maker, blacksmith, scuba diver, and ship captain turned inventor, who decided one day in 1782 to build a flying machine. Captain Arsenio was a curious man who liked to tinker and explore, and the fact that he worked with a hodgepodge of materials and was totally unaware of the laws of physics were not account to get in the way of a man who sets off to fly with the birds (in spite of himself). In this delightful book we learn about his long series of eccentric projects in this quest.

"Captain Arsenio: Inventions and (Mis)adventures in Flight" by Pablo Bernasconi purports to be based on pages from the recently discovered of Captain Manual J. Arsenio, in which were recorded his many failed attempts to create a flying machine. Of course, this is all fiction, which probably explains why it the book ends up being so much fun. Bernasconi tells Arsenio's story, starting in the 1780s with the Motocanary and the Flying Runner, then progressing to the Corkscrewpterus, Aerial Submarine, Illusion Burner, and Hamstertronic. These are six of his eighteen most influential projects that have contributed to modern aviation by virtue of teaching that most valuable of lessons, "Don't try this at home." For each of his flying machines we have the details of the project (e.g., the Motocanary involves tying sixteen canaries to a belt), including diagrams and sketches, followed by Arsenio's Flight Diary which details the specific phases of the attempt and the lessons learned (e.g., choose more obedient bird, test the design in a field without any trees, etc.).

Bernasconi's artwork consists of collaged original art and found objects, and if it does not remind you of a cross between Rube Goldberg's inventions and Terry Gilliam's animation for Monty Python, then you are a whole lot younger than I am. Young readers will be delighted by the (mis)adventures of Captain Arsenio and captivated by the various designs and Beransconi's artistic renderings of them. He even tries to answer the big question (Did Arsenio eventually succeed in flying?) and while a sequel might be possible given the other twelve designs left unexplored, I doubt we will be that lucky. The copyright page for this book appears in the back instead of the front and I think this was done so that we could better appreciate the dedication to Bernasconi's father, who taught him to fly, and his mother, who taught him to land when he was growing up in Argentina. Captain Arsenio must have been that lucky as well.

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublimely ridiculous, January 30, 2011

By 

LG Burnett (East Coast USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Captain Arsenio: Inventions and (Mis)adventures in Flight (Hardcover)

Want to make a kid laugh? Read this book together. To quote the amazing and amazingly inept (though highly persistent) Captain Arsenio, "It cannot fail!" 18th century aeronaut-wannabe, Captain Arsenio, gives us a wonderful first-hand view of his inventions and logic. Quirky art and a slapstick sense of humor with a dry, yet over the top, delivery makes for a great story that stands up well to multiple readings.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great story for kids and adults, October 17, 2008

By 

B. Bock - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Captain Arsenio: Inventions and (Mis)adventures in Flight (Hardcover)

This is an entertaining book detailing the failed flying inventions of the determined but untalented Captain Arsenio. Each section outlines the theory and construction of a different invention, accompanied by a diagramatic "flight diary" showing the (usually catastrophic) results. The humerous visuals and commentary are immediately appealling, but it is the dogged optimism and courage of the character of Captain Arsenio that will keep you returning for another read.