The Wright Brothers

by Pamela Duncan Edwards, Henry Cole (Illustrations)

The Wright boys' interest in flying began with a toy given to them when they were small children. As young men, they first opened a printing shop and then a bicycle shop, all the while experimenting with how to design a flying machine. Finally they achieved their incredible goal-man's first powered flight. In this accessible picture book with a "House that Jack Built" approach, young readers are gradually introduced to all the steps that led up to the Wright brother's remarkable historic accomplishment.

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Pamela Duncan Edwards is a British-born children's author living in the United States. She has written over forty picture books published in both the U.S. and the U.K., known for their playful language and engaging storytelling.

Reviews

[Melissa Namba · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a decent read. I am not a fan of the mice used in this book because I don't really feel like they added anything, but a parallel storyline, which might be hard for young readers to sit through. The effective use of repetition is helpful. Pretty sure everyone who reads this book will remember that the Wright brothers began dreaming of flying in 1903. The history is basic but solid and the timeline is straightforward.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography is told like a fiction story with wonderful illustrations and cute mice making their own observations and comments on each page. There is a timeline at the very beginning and end of the story. This would be an excellent addition to a biography unit for grades 1-4.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my sons expressed an interest in learning more about the Wright brothers and I said, "oh, let me just pull one off the shelf." Okay so I only have one book on them. I was just trying to sound cool.

This is written much like The House that Jack Built in that each page has a new sentence which is then added to the previous sentence and you keep adding on until the last page is just chock full of everything you've already read. My boys thought it was cool and it really helped them learn certain dates and facts because they heard it over and over again. It's not an easy reader, but they were repeating the words with me towards the end and I think that you could use this book to help them read (because of the repetition).

Each of the major events of their lives are touched on but very briefly. There are some silly cartoon mice at the bottom which either tell jokes or add information. My kids were cracking up. The illustrations were very lovely. There is a timeline at the end of the book with a few more details.

I haven't read any books about the Wrights yet, but am very pleased with this one. I think it works nicely for the elementary years, but I'll definitely need something else soon. If you're teaching multiple ages this would be nice for the younger ones, paired with a more detailed book for the olders.

[Christine Turner]

Cumulative text in the style of "The House that Jack Built" describes the series of events that led to the Wright Brothers' historic flight.
Subject: Aeronautics -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literature
Inventors -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literature
Aeronautics -- United States -- History -- Juvenile literature
Flight -- Juvenile literature
Aeronautics -- United States -- Biography
Inventors -- United States -- Biography
Aeronautics -- United States -- History
Subject:
Wright, Orville, 1871-1948-Juvenile literature.
Wright, Wilbur, 1867-1912-Juvenile literature.

[Morgan Groth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good book to have out in a basket for those students who want to learn more about influential people or inventions. They can explore this book independently and learn about the Wright Brothers and how they flew the first airplane. I think this would be a good book for any age, but for younger children, it could be read aloud in pieces or sections.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome book for younger students on the Wright Brothers! The illustrations are beautiful.