Touching the Sky: The Flying Adventures of Wilbur and Orville Wright [Hardcover]

Louise Borden (Author), Trish Marx (Author), Peter M. Fiore (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003 | Age Level: 5 and up

On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers took their historic first flight, and by 1909 the brothers were full-fledged celebrities. In September of that year, Wilbur and Orville finally showed the world, firsthand, just what they had achieved.

In the United States, Wilbur delighted the crowd with spectacular flying demonstrations in New York City during the city's Hudson-Fulton Celebration. He flew over the harbor, glided past tall buildings, looped the Statue of Liberty, and even traveled up the Hudson River to Grant's Tomb. The people of New York were astonished and thrilled to witness these unbelievable flights. At the same time, Orville held daring public exhibitions in Germany and set amazing new records. He flew the highest ever, and took the longest flight with a passenger. The Wright brothers opened doors that no one knew could be opened!

Louise Borden and Trish Marx document the extraordinary lives and achievements of two of our most celebrated American heroes, Wilbur and Orville Wright, from their humble beginnings to their later success and riches.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5-At last, a new twist on the aviators' story-one that recognizes them as "the first celebrities of the 20th century." It took a few years after their historic first flight for the brothers to achieve renown, but by 1909, when the events in this book take place, they were indeed acclaimed and invited to give public exhibitions. The events of 1903 are summarized in the authors' introduction, but here they take readers even higher, touching the sky above New York Harbor and Berlin's Templehof Field. Both brothers had been invited to participate in New York City's 300th-anniversary celebration named in honor of explorer Henry Hudson and inventor Robert Fulton. Orville had already committed to a contract in Europe so Wilbur packed his bags and his flyer and headed for New York with his mechanic. These two events, marking one of the few times the almost inseparable brothers were apart, are uniquely re-created here. Fiore's detailed watercolors dramatically and accurately record the two venues. The narrative, too, is laced with engaging facts that are successfully married to the pictures. The engaging presentation ends with a short epilogue that completes the Wrights' story, an aviation time line, and two 1909 maps-one of Manhattan island with highlighted monuments, one of Europe.
Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. This picture book takes the unusual step of introducing Wilbur and Orville Wright separately, as individuals. In September 1909, Wilbur put together and modified a flying machine on Governors Island in New York Harbor and piloted it over crowds of awed New Yorkers. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Orville assembled and flew another Wright Flyer before excited onlookers in France and Germany. An epilogue shows the brothers reunited in Dayton and continues the story until their deaths. Strung across the pages in the manner of free verse, the narrative reads like prose, but good, solid prose made more accessible, perhaps, by all the white space on the pages. Equally effective are Fiore's sensitive watercolor illustrations of the cityscapes, landscapes, people, and flying machines. Maps and a time line are appended. Complementing the many books that focus on the Kitty Hawk flights, this offers a more personal introduction to the famous inventors. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689848765
• ISBN-13: 978-0689848766
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,736,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wilbur and Orville Wright usher in the age of aviation, June 24, 2007

By 

Betty J. Darst "Childrens Literature Specialist" (Dayton, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Touching the Sky: The Flying Adventures of Wilbur and Orville Wright (Hardcover)

If you have no other children's book on the Wright Brothers, this is one to have. The poem in the beginning is a comprehensive study on the Wrights. The book is carefully researched and accurately showed the accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright during that first decade of aviation. Though a picture book, it will appeal to all ages and will be a keeper