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The Wright brothers : how they invented the airplane / Russell Freedman ; with original photographs by Wilbur and Orville Wright.

By: Freedman, Russell, 1929-2018.
Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Holiday House, c1991Edition: 1st ed.Description: 129 p. : ill. ; 24 x 27 cm.ISBN: 0823408752 :; 082341082X :.Subject(s): Wright, Orville, 1871-1948 -- Juvenile literature | Wright, Wilbur, 1867-1912 -- Juvenile literature | Aeronautics -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literatureSummary: Follows the lives of the Wright brothers and describes how they developed the first airplane.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Book Book South County Nonfiction Children J629.13 Fre (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 0010106614901
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A Newbery Honor-winning biography of the men whose experiments brought about the Age of Flight.

This engaging narrative account of Orville and Wilbur Wright, two men with little formal schooling but a knack for solving problems, follows their interest from a young age in the developing field of aeronautics. Russell Freedman's writing brings the brothers' personalities to life, enhancing the record of events with excerpts from the brothers' writing and correspondence, and accounts of those who knew them.

Chronicling their lives from their early mechanical work on toys and bicycles through the development of several flyers, The Wright Brothers follows the siblings through their achievements--not only the first powered, sustained, controlled airplane flight, but the numerous improvements and enhancements that followed, their revolutionary airplane business, and the long legacy of that first brief flight.

Illustrated with numerous historical photographs--many taken by the Wright brothers themselves--this is a concise, extremely reader-friendly introduction to these important American inventors.

Includes a note on the Wright brothers' photographs, as well as recommendation for further reading and learning.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-124) and index.

Follows the lives of the Wright brothers and describes how they developed the first airplane.

additional copy in professional collection.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Newbery winner Freedman ( Lincoln: A Photobiography ) has again produced a vivid, superior biography. This time focusing on a well-known pair of brothers, he effectively transforms our perception of the subjects as distant cultural icons into tireless, flesh-and- blood heroes. In understated, involving prose--skillfully laced with pertinent excerpts from journals, letters and contemporary accounts--Freedman lays out a clear and compelling history of the early aviation experiments that culminated in the legendary flight at Kitty Hawk. As with Lincoln , photographs are integral to Freedman's exposition and he makes ample, effective use of the many astonishing photos taken by the brothers in order to better document their experiments. Youngsters cannot fail to come away with a heightened understanding of the Wrights' dedication to manned flight and to the painstakingly slow process of invention. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-8-The Wright Brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk changed the way people viewed the world and led to the creation of modern air travel. Russell Freedman's Newbery Honor biography (Holiday House, 1991) traces the brothers' lives and the events that led to manned flight. It captures the tenacity and determination of the brothers and their unwillingness to accept failure. Students will be surprised to learn that some of the devices on modern aircraft date back to their inventions. The multitude of interesting facts and minute details that draw readers into the print version seems to bog listeners down in the audiobook narrated by Knighton Bliss. The text is laced with quotes from journals, letters, eyewitness accounts, friends, and colleagues of Orville and Wilber, and sometimes the transitions between them are unclear in the audio format. The bonus disc features an interactive gallery of the photos taken by the brothers and others to document their experiments. Have the book available to facilitate note taking.-Sarah Flood, Breckinridge County Public Library, Hardinsburg, KY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Gr. 5-10. They weren't at all alike though they shared a common dream. Sons of a mother who loved to tinker and a father who taught his children determination, Wilbur and Orville Wright did what others had tried but failed to do. In 1903, they successfully accomplished the first powered, controlled, sustained airplane flight. What's more, they deliberately photographed it for posterity. Incorporating some of their extraordinary black-and-white photographs, Freedman chronicles their triumph--from building begun in their Ohio bicycle shop and tests carried out at remote, windy Kitty Hawk to success in France and in America, where, in 1911, a Wright Flyer completed the first transcontinental flight. Biographical details are seamlessly blended into the revealing photo-history, which Freedman extends with clear descriptions of the aerodynamic stumbling blocks the Wright brothers faced and their endeavors to overcome the suspicion that greeted their success. Photographs are sourced in a general note, and Freedman includes a short section about the Wrights' own fascinating pictures. But the many quotes he's used to animate events and personalize the brothers are not footnoted. Even so, his book stands as a fine, readable account of the fascinating achievement of two men who refused to accept flight "as the final limit of impossibility." Appended are a bibliography of further readings (including mention of sources "for the Wright brothers in their own words") and a listing of places to visit. ~--Stephanie Zvirin

Horn Book Review

Photographs. The Wright brothers' deep commitment to the idea of a flying machine and their contribution to aviation history are the focus of this superb, beautifully rendered, completely engrossing book. Fine photographs, many taken by Orville and Wilbur Wright, provide striking views of the early airplanes and of the people involved. Bibliography, index. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Using illuminating facts and incidents to place the story of this monumental achievement in the history of aeronautics and in the brothers' personal lives, Freedman focuses on the events that led to the first successful flight and on the Wrights' subsequent improvements on their invention. Diagrams and lucid explanations of the principles of flying make the years of tinkering, experimenting, reasoning, and problem-solving even more fascinating. Though Freedman doesn't characterize Wilbur and Orville in depth, he does provide telling glimpses of the two unmarried brothers devoting themselves to working enthusiastically and amiably together (``They tinkered and fussed and muttered to themselves from dawn to dusk,'' reported one observer, ``...At no time did I ever hear either of them render a hasty or ill-considered answer...''). In Freedman's deceptively relaxed narrative, the facts themselves are disarming: e.g., the local postmaster helped to haul the planes back uphill, and the fire brigade came regularly to stand by. The brothers' own excellent photos, reproduced in a generous size, make an outstanding contribution to both format and authenticity; they're well supplemented with appropriate additional photos. Like Lincoln (Newbery Medal, 1988), this is familiar but retold in a manner so fresh and immediate that reading it is like discovering the material for the first time. Index. (Nonfiction. 9+)

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