Customer Reviews

Wee and the Wright Brothers

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The somewhat bland cover hides a beautifully illustrated book about "Wee" --a young mouse who lives with his family in the Wright Brothers' Dayton, Ohio bicycle shop. French illustrator Bernadette Pons' composition, and use of detail, light, and soft, shaded color gives an early Disney-look to her mostly lively pictures. (The beige sand of Kitty Hawk and the Brothers' somewhat plain inventor-wear contrast with the more vivid and 3-dimensional look of the mouse's habitat.)

Writer Timothy Gaffney is an aviation journalist and pilot, as well as a friend of the Wright family. His enthusiasm for his subject shows in the accurate and interesting narrative, which highlights the testing (progressing from kites to gliders to their first plane, "Flyer"), and his detailed description of the Flyer's first day aloft. Wee is a journalist himself, writing stories for his family's "Mouse News." At first, I thought this was an unnecessary subplot, but it provides a Wee a motive for following the Wright brothers to the testing grounds of Kitty Hawk. Wee eventually sneaks on board the Flyer, and he and the reader share the adventure and excitement of the Wright Brothers' feat.

Gaffney includes a brief biography about the brothers (which includes some scientific details about the plane), and two paragraphs about a mouse discovered by the Wrights at their Kitty Hawk encampment. As described in the story, Orville tried setting traps for the "wee" mouse, only to find that it had repeatedly the cornbread bait. (Many years later, the inventor wrote about the inventive mouse.) This is a cleverly written and illustrated book that adds interest and personality to the Wright Brothers' most famous accomplishment.

The year is 1903, and Wee is a journalist mouse who writes and publishes the Mouse News alongside his beloved wife and children in a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. The very same bicycle shop that is owned and run by Wilbur and Orville Wright. At the time being, the two brothers are working on a machine called the Flyer, which they hope will be able to transport people through air in the future. When they head towards Kitty Hawk, Wee knows that he must tag-along in order to break the news to his avid readers. And who knows, perhaps Wee will even get the chance to take flight himself.

In this wonderful new children's book, author Timothy R. Gaffney introduces first-time readers to the Wright Brothers', as well as a cute, yet quirky character named Wee. Gaffney's descriptions of building the Flyer, and testing it out are vivid and descriptive, while Bernadette Pons' illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, and coincide magnificently with the story. Overall this is a must-have book for any children interested in flying, as it gives a brief history lesson, and will take them on a fun reading adventure.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

We always buy books as souvenirs from our vacations, and this is one of our favorites. Kids can relate to the little mouse hiding in Orville Wright's pocket on the first flight. They love how he figures out how to steal the cheese without getting caught in the brothers' traps. But it also gives kids a real feeling of how exciting it must have been to be there for the first flight! Plus it's a good introduction of what a reporter does to cover a good story. A very sweet book!

Wow! I loved this book - it made me feel like I was right there with the Wright Brothers. Please read this book to your kid or have them read it. ED (7 years old)