The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont - ADVISABLE

Griffith, Victoria  The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont  Illustrated by Eva Montanari  Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2011.  PICTURE BOOK  Content: G.  

Alberto Santos-Dumont was a Brazilian inventor who became famous during the early 1900’s for flying around Paris in a dirigible, a controllable balloon used for transportation.  Eager to further his ability to travel by air, he spent three years trying to invent a self-propelled plane.  Although others in the world had been trying to invent self-propelled planes, none had been advanced enough to get off the ground.  Alberto invited hundreds of people to come to a field to see him fly his new plane, but when they got there another inventor showed up and wanted to fly also, so that he could be considered the first to invent the airplane.  Alberto allowed the other inventor to go first, but the man couldn’t get his plane off the ground.  When it was Alberto’s turn, Alberto’s aircraft left the ground and flew in the air for 21 seconds, making him the first man to invent a self-propelled airplane.  

Another famous person’s story is woven throughout Alberto’s story- Louis Cartier, the wrist watch maker.  The pictures are mediocre, but the story is very entertaining and interesting.  

EL (K-3), EL (4-6)-ADVISABLE.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.