Humphrey, Albert, and the Flying Machine [Hardcover]

Kathryn Lasky (Author), John Manders (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Humphrey and Albert think Princess Briar Rose's party is bo-o-oring--after all, everyone falls asleep! But when the brothers are the first to awake nearly one hundred years later, they realize the royal court has been enchanted--and only a kiss can wake up the princess and break the curse. Refusing to do any smooching (Yech!), they go in search of a handsome prince. Instead, they find Daniel Bernoulli, inventor of an incredible flying machine. But can the curse be broken by an ordinary inventor?

In this hilariously fractured fairy tale, science comes to the rescue!

An author's note tells about the real Daniel Bernoulli and the Bernoulli Effect, the scientific principle named for his discovery.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2–Humphrey and Albert, 10 and 8 respectively, do not want to go to Princess Briar Rose's birthday party, fearing it will be–their favorite word–boring. Things look more promising when the evil fairy appears, but then the curse kicks in and they fall asleep for the requisite 100 years. The boys wake up three weeks early, however, and go hunting for a handsome prince to kiss the princess and break the spell. When they hack their way through the nettles surrounding the castle, they encounter the scientist and inventor Daniel Bernoulli, hard at work on a flying machine. With the boys' assistance, he completes the plane, flies over the nettles, and kisses the princess. Although he is not handsome, she imagines his mind, and "in that mind she saw beauty, and in his eyes she saw love." An appended author's note attempts to clear up the confusion created by the text regarding the real Bernoulli and his genuine accomplishments. This is an uncomfortable blend of reality and fantasy that simply doesn't work and will leave children with no clue as to who "this prince of science" was or why he was important. Manders's frenetic watercolor, gouache, and pencil cartoons are comic but rely so heavily on shades of brown that details often blur together. Debbie Dadey's Shooting Star: AnnieOakley (Walker, 1997) and Diane Stanley's Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter(HarperCollins, 1997) offer more satisfying mixes of fact and fancy.–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. Reluctantly attending the sure-to-be-boring birthday party of Princess Briar Rose, brothers Humphrey and Albert soon yawningly note that the long-rumored prophecy is coming true as everyone at court falls into a deep sleep. The boys awaken 100 years later (but before the other guests) and leave the castle in search of a prince who can end the enchantment with a kiss. Instead they find real-life inventor Daniel Bernoulli, who is attempting to invent a flying machine and manages to fulfill their purpose as well as his own. Though the ending owes little to either history or folklore, it is entirely satisfying anyway. Besides linking the story to that of Sleeping Beauty, the appended author's note provides information about scientist Bernoulli's life and his discovery. Large in scale, comical in characterization, and dramatic in composition, the spirited watercolor, gouache, and pencil artwork will help draw children into this lighthearted blend of fact and fiction that's good for reading aloud. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152162356
• ISBN-13: 978-0152162351
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,152,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun take on a fairy tale, July 9, 2005

By 

L. Stone "Adam" (Madison, MS) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Humphrey, Albert, and the Flying Machine (Hardcover)

This was a fun story to read to kids. I bought it because my son loves anything that flies and so the title intrigued me. When I read it to my 6 year old son, we happened to have our best friends in town who have 5 and 7 year old daughters. All of them loved it - it was definitely not boring!

4.0 out of 5 stars science lesson, March 26, 2005

By 

Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Humphrey, Albert, and the Flying Machine (Hardcover)

This is a picture book fairy tale much like the story of Sleeping Beauty. Albert and Humphrey and two brothers who have been invited to the Princess Briar Rose's birthday party. They think it will be boring and they don't want to go. Their parents make them anyway. While at the party a mean witch cast a spell that makes everyone sleep for 100 years. Albert and Humphrey are the first to wake up and go looking for a price to break the spell by kissing the princess. Instead of a price they find a scientist named Daniel Bernoulli. He used his invention of the flying machine to get back to the palace and break the spell.

The scientist in the book was based on a real person named Daniel Bernoulli. In the back of the book is a page of authors notes. In the notes she tells more about the scientist and his work.
I would recommend this book to kids ages 7-10. The book is a picture book but there is a lot to learn from it.