Customer Reviews

To Fly: The Story of the Wright Brothers

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Wendie Old introduces Orville and Wilbur Wright, two bicycle repairmen from Dayton, Ohio, who dreamed of leaving the ground behind and soaring through the sky. From experiments with kites and gliders to the first self-propelled flying machine, the Wright brothers used ingenuity and imagination to do something no scientist had ever been able to master, fly a heavier-than-air machine..... Ms Old's easy to read and engaging text traces the lives, work, disappointments, and triumphs of these two unassuming dreamers, and her simple scientific explanations of things like wind resistance, drag, and air pressure bring the mysteries of flight to life in a simple and informative way. Robert Andrew Parker's stunning and evocative pen and water-color illustrations enhance the story with drama and wit, and imaginations will soar as kids watch the brothers' ideas come to life and take off. Perfect for youngsters 7-11, To Fly is an inspiring and intriguing biography that's sure to whet the appetite of young scientists and dreamers everywhere. "Watch buzzards,/Flying kites,/Lazy, crazy boys/The Wrights. They // Tried to fly/Just like a bird/Foolish dreamers/Strange. Absurd. We // Scoffed and scorned/Their dreams of flight/But we were wrong/And they were Wright. (Beverly McLoughland)"

"To Fly: The Story of the Wright Brothers" is a science lesson told as the opening chapter in the Age of Aviation. The story is about how Orville and Wilbur Wright went from flying kites to the first heavier-than-air manned flight (the book touches briefly on the initial skeptcism over their claims and their vindication five years later in France). Each chapter by Wendie Old consists of a page (maybe two) of text and an accompanying diagram, and the result is a sequential study of process by which kites became gliders and gliders became flying machines because of the Wright Brothers. The biographical elements become the backdrop for the invention of the airplane, focusing more on the unique working relationship that developed between the two brothers more than anything else. The illustrations by Robert Andrew Parker were executed in watercolor, which is appropriate to the subject matter; I was reminded, as you may be as well, of the famous drawings of DaVinci. The moral of the story is explained in the epilogue, where it was noted that the problem of making a flying machine work was not solved by scientists but by two bicycle repairmen from Dayton, Ohio. However, because of the way that Old tells the story, many young readers are going to be struck by the idea that what the Wright Brothers did is something that could have done. Ultimately, "To Fly" is not just informational, but inspirational as well.

I am a science and aviation buff, and I have always loved the story of the Wright Brothers. Two brothers of average means with no formal scientific education (just good minds) beat the highly educated and well-funded government operation at discovering the secrets of flight. I find the story inspiring, and want my kids to understand that lots of people were trying to build airplanes---the Wright brothers methodically went about discovering what about flight was missing from the worlds' collective knowledge. They had to rewrite the "flight tables" that the world had accepted when they realized they were wrong.

The book also discusses how the brothers would "scrap", or argue a point until they had seen every logical connection through. I always teach my children to leave no stone unturned in an argument, and not to accept anything for face value but to require justification and proof that they can see.

Many books on the Wright's don't discuss Langley, Chanute, Charlie Taylor, or the development of the wind tunnel as a tool to test wing shapes on a limited budget. The level of detail is stunning for a children's book. I also found the watercolor illustrations quite beautiful.

As a note to parents--there is a lot of text in this book, although there is an illustration on at least one side of each open page. The book is enjoyed by a 4 year old in the family, but he has an incredible attention span. Younger kids or those used to lots of TV might get a little bored. I for one am glad to have a book not just on the airplane ,but on the innovative brothers who applied their brains to solve a problem nobody else could solve.