Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane
by Russell Freedman

   This is a clear, understandable and readable account of how the Wright Brothers invented the airplane. Even the technical stuff is explained in language that is not hard to understand.
   The events are illustrated with lots of photographs, many of which were taken by Orville and Wilbur Wright.
   When you realize that just maybe the airplane is the first invention to be fully documented by photographs, you are drawn into the brothers’ single-minded passion for achieving powered flight, for tinkering and experimenting until they could solve the problems that had eluded other scientist for years. There are many humanizing details (the firemen who were on “standby” and the cows and horses who had to be shooed from the “runway”) and excerpts from contemporary accounts make it fun to read. For instance, in 1904, Amos Root who ran a beekeeper’s supply shop, drove nearly 200 miles and saw the first circling flight ever made. He wrote his own account of the event that begins the book.
   Here are a few sentences:
   “The machine is held until ready to start by a sort of trap to be sprung when all is ready; then with a tremendous flapping and snapping of the four cylinder engine, the huge machine springs aloft. When it first turned that circle and came near the starting point, I was right in front of it; I said then and I still believe, it was…the grandest sight of my life!”
   Buy here.

Wright Flyer Kite Flying Model Airplane

   This one actually flies.
   A scale model of the original Wright Flyer, it has a five-foot wingspan and flies well as either a glider or a kite. (www.yellowairplane.com

Taking Flight: The Story of the Wright Brothers
by Stephen Krensky, Larry Day (Illustrator)

   The story of the Wright brothers is familiar to many adults, but this adult does a great job of telling the story to young readers.
   The watercolor illustrations work to expand the text and they let readers have a glimpse at the machine shops and tough conditions that the Wright brothers faced at Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills.
   This edition is part of the "Ready-To-Read" series. Buy here.

The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk
A Peanuts Cartoon Video

   This video, a miniature history lesson of flight takes off with the legend of Icarus and lands as the Wright Brothers are born in the late 19th century.
   Charlie Brown (our hero) and Linus (friend) are invited to visit Linus' cousin Dolly in North Carolina.
   Together, they witness the Wright Brothers' first flight. Snoopy (Charlie’s dog) serves as the cheer leader to the first flight.
Charlie gets into the act attempting to fly the Wright Brothers' kite and it flies him instead.
The counterpoint and pad under all the action is the smooth cool-summer sound of the great Wynton Marsalis, who now heads up New York City Jazz at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
   Something for everybody here.