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The Wright Brothers is a story book written by Ginger Wadsworth in 2004 that tells the story of the invention of the air plane. The book begins by stating the invention of the air plane and first successful flight took place on December 17, 1903 and changed the course of history forever. The book then goes into detail about the life the Wright brothers lived growing up, and what lead to their marvelous invention. It walks the reader through their thought processes and how they constructed the first glider and tested it out in the air. The first glider flew like a kite and the Wright brothers continued to improve the glider but continued to fly it like a kite. The brothers continued to invent and improve gliders every year, each time getting higher and higher until the big crash in 1902. In September of 1903 the brothers invented an engine powered glider with two propellers to life it off the ground. They called this glider the Flyer. Unfortunately the glider was too heavy to lift off the ground, but in December of that year the Flyer lifted off the ground and landed 120 feet away. They continued to build and improve the gliders they built until October 5, 1905 when they finally created a plane that would fly to the end of the field and turn around and come back before landing safely. In 1908 the brothers took their plane to France and flew in front of the first large group of people. They continued to fly planes for people throughout the entire world until both brothers passed away, Wilbur in 1912 and Orville in 1948. The book concludes with a time line restating all the success the Wright Brothers accomplished and the history of the United States at the time.
This is an excellent book to use to teach students about the wonders of air and flying. It gives excellent and accurate detail of the life and process of building an airplane. I would use this book in any elementary classroom to accompany a science lesson of motion, gravity, air, and planes. It would also be a great tool to use to accompany a history lesson given that it pays close detail to the changing world and the world wars. ( )