A boy witnesses the Wright brothers make history...
I reckon there must be a ton of words written about those fellers Orville and Wilbur Wright. Some of the words are true, some of them are lies, but mostly the words are just left out cause the folks who wrote 'em just weren't there when it all happened.
-First sentence
This book is written as the diary of Johnny Moore, from January 1, 1900 through 1908. He lives in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina and witnesses the Wright brothers make history by being the first people to fly. He starts off as a 15-year old boy spying to try to figure out what Wilbur and Orville are up to, then he meets Wilbur and becomes a part of history.
Johnny's grammar and language are dreadful. He doesn't curse, but he uses a lot of slang that may be difficult for middle grade students to understand. It was a bit distracting at first, but I got used to it.
The story was interesting and quick to read. I finished it in an afternoon. A child in grades 4 and up who has an interest in the Wright brothers or inventions, would probably enjoy this book. It is written by Dan Gutman who is a prolific writer of middle grade books (including the baseball card adventures like Honus and Me).
6
