From Publishers Weekly
Gibbons's bright pictures and uncomplicated text explore the history of flight, from France's first passenger balloon ("It carried a duck, a rooster and a sheep, and they all landed safely") to today's space-shuttle missions. She mentions the various functions of different flying machines: planes that do crop dusting, carry freight, fight fires and advertise; helicopters that transport troops, report traffic conditions and rescue stranded sailors. For some reason, most of this information falls flat; at one point Gibbons describes the scene at an airport, material she already covered succinctly in her book, Airport. An overview of major breakthroughs in flight is provided, but with one error: Charles Lindbergh's name is misspelled. This is far from Gibbons's best work, but for those searching for a history of this sort, the information is capably handled.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1 There couldn't be a briefer or more basic introduction to modern air travel and the history of flight. In 30 vividly colored pages, Gibbons takes children from the image of one man envying the bird its wings to the promise of the space shuttle exploring the heavens. In between, Gibbons gives the history of flying beginning with the first balloon in France carrying a basket of farm animals; a brief mention of the Wright brothers; the modern uses of blimps and hang gliders; then the importance of airplanes, from the small propeller planes to the largest jumbo jets. More eye-catching than Edmund Blandford's True Book of Flight (Childrens, 1968; o.p.), but lacking many of the essentials presented there, the simple text and bright, instructional illustrations will serve well. One wonders, though, why, since such famous names in the annals of flight as da Vinci, Lindbergh and Earhart were omitted, a whole page was devoted to the sentence, "The view is different from above." Hayden E. Atwood, Cape Elizabeth Middle School Lib . , Maine
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
