(2) K-3 Illustrated by Wendell Minor. For each of these two biographical picture books of American icons, Burleigh and Minor (Night Train, Night Train, rev. 11/18; Tiny Bird, rev. 5/20; and others) focus on one signal achievement in their subject's career. For Winslow Homer, they imagine the artist in his Prouts Neck studio, painting the Maine coast just outside the window. The text here is more effusive than fact-bearing ("Elated, Winslow steps to the very rim of the rocks, once more feeling the force of wind and waves stir his soul: majestic, free, wild, untamed--forever!") but does convey the power of artistic creation, while the gouache illustrations themselves re-create the wild waves and obdurate rocks in a way that evokes Homer without imitating him. Wilbur Wright gets a more straightforward accounting, in this case of his six-and-a-half-minute flight around the Statue of Liberty in 1909. Technical information is slight, but Burleigh successfully imparts the drama of the flight (for both the aviator and the crowd below) and its place in the history of aviation and the Wright brothers' accomplishments. And where Minor's paintings for the Winslow Homer book are all power and passion, here they look almost lighter than air, fine-lined and delicate; just right. Both books include extensive back matter about their subjects in general and these slices of their lives in particular. Review covers these titles: Breaking Waves and Wilbur Wright Meets Lady Liberty.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(2) YA The rate of innovation during the first decade of flight is as astounding now as it must have been at the time. Sandler's compelling look at 1909's weeklong air meet--the Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne, in ­Rheims, France--captures the wonder and excitement of this early aviation event, which filled newspapers across the globe. Each chapter follows the fifteen pilots through a single day of races, challenges, and record-setting flights. Sometimes-harrowing descriptions of crashes, near crashes, and other close calls add to the tension, while Sandler's clear expository prose illuminates both the mechanical marvels of the age and their brash and courageous pilots. Opening chapters focusing on Wilbur Wright's 1908 flights in France twelve months prior to the festival and on Louis Blériot's and Hubert Latham's competing attempts to cross the English Channel provide readers a primer on the technical and human challenges of early heavier-than-air travel. Sidebars throughout break up the narrative with additional background on many of the participants, influencers, and aeronautical innovations that made the eight days at Rheims the turning point in air travel's practicality. Sandler concludes with biographical information on these early flight pioneers, including their later accomplishments. Substantial back matter (though no detailed source notes) rounds out this impressive and highly readable look at an important inflection point in history. Pair with Sheinkin's Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America (rev. 9/19).

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

(3) 4-6 Alternator Books: STEM Smackdown series. These lively narratives investigate controversies surrounding who actually developed widely used STEM advances. Each text traces an invention's history, technology, and development by following the contest between two people, each of whom have claimed to be the true inventor. Well-designed with captioned color and black-and-white photographs, paintings, and diagrams, the books should intrigue readers and encourage further research. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Alternator Books: STEM Smackdown titles: Who Invented the Light Bulb?, Who Invented the Radio?, Who Invented the Telephone?, Who Invented the Airplane?, Who Invented the Movie Camera?, and Who Invented the Television?

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) 4-6 Epic Fails series. Illustrated by Tim Foley. Failure has been the hallmark of humans' attempts at flight, starting with the mythological figure Icarus. The Wright Brothers were no exception, but Slader shows how their perseverance ultimately led to success, including their contributions to aviation after their successful Kitty Hawk flight. A light, humorous tone and plenty of black-and-white illustrations and photos make this an engaging read. Timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(3) 4-6 Engineering That Made America series. This series takes an in-depth look at the history, conception, and practical application of key engineering feats and inventions. Each volume thoughtfully breaks down events and inspiration that led up to each invention, as well as its evolution and impact over the years. Archival photos break up the narratives. There are four other spring 2017 books in this series. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Engineering That Made America titles: The Invention of the Assembly Line, The Invention of the Airplane, The Invention of the Transistor, and The Building of the Hoover Dam.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) 4-6 Science Comics series. Illustrated by Molly Brooks. Science, technology, and biography mix in this volume. The narrative covers the Wright Brothers' lives and inventions, their contemporaries and competitors, the science of flight, and aviation technology. The comic-book art and format lends a lighthearted feel, but the graphic flow is occasionally broken as the more technical content is conveyed in text- and diagram-heavy sections. Reading list. Glos.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) K-3 Zoom In on Incredible Inventors series. Providing the most basic information about these inventors' lives and legacies, these six Common Core Standard–aligned books may be useful to report-writing new readers. However, the simplified texts often raise more questions than answers, and some of the photos, paintings, and drawings could use captions or labels for clarity. Lists of quick stats and key dates are appended. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Zoom In on Incredible Inventors titles: Alexander Graham Bell, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington Carver, Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison, and The Wright Brothers.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(2) 4-6 The brothers' processes of hypothesizing ways to overcome problems, building models, testing those models, correcting their mistakes, and finally producing a successful powered airplane take center stage in this account. Both the journalistic narrative and the archival photos blend relevant biographical information with technical explanations. A chronology and a list of print and nonprint sources are included. Ind.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2003

(4) K-3 Super SandCastle: Amazing Inventors & Innovators series. Seven innovative thinkers and their history-making inventions are introduced in uncomplicated biographies for early readers. Each slim overview provides a cursory outline of the subject's life in ample archival photos illuminated by large-print text. A final question closes the gap between history and the present in each volume: "Who do you talk to on the telephone?" "What do you like to take pictures of?" Glos. Review covers these Super SandCastle: Amazing Inventors & Innovators titles: Alexander Graham Bell, George Eastman, Henry Ford, Samuel Morse, Thomas Edison, and The Wright Brothers.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) K-3 Super SandCastle: Amazing Super Simple Inventions series. Each collection of activities explores the engineering principles and design features of historically important technological innovations in transportation, communication, and imaging. After background information about each invention, its principal innovator, and a timeline of development, readers can follow clear directions (illustrated with photos) to create their own prototypes from common items--a string phone and a balloon-powered car, for instance. Glos. Review covers these Super SandCastle: Amazing Super Simple Inventions titles: Super Simple Aircraft Projects, Super Simple Automobile Projects, Super Simple Camera Projects, Super Simple Phonograph Projects, Super Simple Telegraph Projects, and Super Simple Telephone Projects.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Matthew McElligott. The reanimated founding father (Benjamin Franklinstein Lives!), with Victor's help, aims to determine whether he was awakened intentionally. He's also puzzling out the similarly undead Wright brothers' connection with vampire bats terrorizing Philadelphia. Fast-paced, humorous, and just shy of too ridiculous, the series continues to be entertaining while also teaching a tiny bit of real history.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(3) YA Milestones in American History series. These accessible volumes capture the hard work, perseverance, and natural talent of Edison and the Wright brothers. The texts explore the men's lives along with providing information about the genesis and development of their inventions. Many photographs, reproductions, and sidebars contribute to a clean design and help clarify the topics. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Milestones in American History titles: The Wright Brothers and The Electric Light.

Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo

(4) 4-6 Sterling Biographies series. Quick-paced chapters and well-chosen images of photos, paintings, documents, etc. (e.g., Edison's talking-doll prototype) make for engaging, if mostly laudatory, biographies. Sidebars flesh out historical contexts, science facts, and important contemporaries and predecessors. Larger-than-life Houdini will probably have the most appeal. Einstein is the least accessible due to its complex physics content. Across the volumes, quotes aren't cited. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Sterling Biographies titles: Alexander Graham Bell, The Wright Brothers, Benjamin Franklin, Harry Houdini, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 National Geographic History Chapters series. This book successfully balances biography, science, and technology for young readers, presenting both the challenges and successes of the first motorized manned flight. A brief "Age of Flight" introduction helps set the scene, then the Wright brothers' specific efforts are described. The many archival photographs and simply detailed diagrams help demonstrate the Wrights' innovative work. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) 4-6 Inventors Who Changed the World series. This series provides a basic overview of each subject's life and career, including successes as well as mistakes and controversies. The series's design features well-reproduced archival photos and distracting, cluttered screen shots. Some less motivated readers will appreciate the publisher's enhanced website. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers these Inventors Who Changed the World titles: Thomas Edison, Wilbur and Orville Wright, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Henry Ford.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) K-3 People to Know series. These easy-to-read biographies are useful and relatively informative, though they tend to gloss over controversial issues (the Holocaust, sexual abuse). The books are all liberally illustrated with photographs, and sidebars provide additional information about relevant topics such as how wing shape affects lift. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these People to Know titles: Anne Frank, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and The Wright Brothers.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Bernadette Pons. This is a fanciful tale about a newspaper-publishing mouse who lives in a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, run by the Wright Brothers. Wee stows away on the trip to Kitty Hawk and even manages to sneak a ride on the historic first flight. The story is smoothly told and accompanied by appealing illustrations in watercolors and pastels.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Peter Fiore. Graceful narration in free verse conveys both historical details and the excitement of two of the Wright brothers' significant public demonstrations in 1909: Wilbur's flights at the Hudson-Fulton Celebration in New York City and Orville's in Germany. Colorful, slightly impressionistic illustrations clarify the text, which never loses trajectory though its details range from family relationships to a crown prince passenger. Epilogue, maps, timeline.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Smart about History series. This kid-friendly book, presented as an elementary-age student's school report, begins with a history of human attempts at flight before focusing on the basic facts about the Wright brothers' lives and work. The book ends with a brief look at "how flying changed the world." An informal, light tone; childlike drawings; captioned photos; and word balloons enhance the appeal of this offering.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by David Craig. This oversize volume recounts the Wright brothers' early interest in flying machines, their first flights at Kitty Hawk, and the international fame that followed. Illustrated with handsome color paintings, photographs, and reproductions, the book also includes a few diagrams that clarify the scientific principles of flight. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta