The Wright Brothers: Inventors of the Airplane (Historical American Biographies) [Library Binding]

Wendie C. Old (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-This biography covers the lives and careers of these men from their births in 1867 and 1871 to their deaths in 1912 and 1948. The author also describes their diligence in promoting their invention and aviation when few people supported them. The Wrights' struggles with patents, other inventors, competing companies, and the Smithsonian Institution are included. Black-and-white photographs, reproductions, or maps appear every few pages. While Old's biography focuses on events in the aviators' lives after the first flights, Russell Freedman's The Wright Brothers (Holiday, 1991), illustrated with inviting large photographs, pays greater attention to the early years and the development of the first airplane. Both titles will provide good reading for the centennial of flight in 2003.-Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, OH

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Library Binding: 128 pages
• Publisher: Enslow Publishers (February 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0766010953
• ISBN-13: 978-0766010956
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,985,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wendie Old began writing in high school but didn't get books published until the early 1990s. They immediately collected awards. Her series of middle school biographies each were honored with the NCSS/CBC Notable Book award from Social Studies teachers. TO FLY, THE STORY OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS, Clarion 2002, a book for elementary school readers, won many awards -- one from all the teacher groups (except the Math teachers), Boston Globe - Horn Book Honor Book, ALA Notable Children's Book 2003, and was on many state reading lists.

She enjoys being a children's librarian in a public library. When she discovered the lack of information about Groundhog Day -- she wrote a book about that. (See if the groundhog near you is mentioned in that book. Most of them are.)

She writes picture books as well. Her first published picture book, Stacy Had a Little Sister, is still being used as bibliotherapy with children who have had siblings die of S.I.D.S.

Her other picture books were published under the pen name -- C.W. Bowie. She and two friends wrote them together and then combined their names to come up with C.W. Bowie. She's the "W" part of the name.

Her blog at wendieold.blogspot.com is called Wendie's Wanderings and it does exactly that. It rambles on about the writing life, happenings at her library (September is Spider Month, yikes!), book reviews, her grandchildren, and her many adventures while traveling and promoting her books.