Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation
Thermopolis, Wyoming
Heroes of the Sky -- Teacher Resources
Reference Materials Annotated Bibliography
Many materials listed under Children are also valuable as adult resources as well.
Adult Books
General Aviation Books
Bilstein, Roger. Flight in America: From the Wrights to the Astronauts. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 2001. Charts many ways in which the airplane has touched virtually every feature of American enterprise, history and culture—leisure and business travel, commercial transportation, national defense and imaginative literature. More than 125 photographs document the beauty of flying machines and the daring of the men and women who invented, built and flew them.
Blackburn, Ken and Jeff Lammers. Aviation Legends Paper Airplane Book. New York:
Workman Publishing, 2001. Presenting the greatest hits of powered aviation, here are easy-to-make, accurate and air-worthy replicas of twelve historically important planes, including the Wright brothers Flyer, Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis and the Douglas DC-3.
Corn, Joseph. The Winged Gospel: America’s Romance with Aviation, 1900–1950.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. Describes development of American aviation and the enthusiastic, romantic and often utopian response that this major new technology inspired from 1910 to 1950.
Dick, Ron and Dan Patterson. Aviation Century: The Early Years. Erin, Ontario: Boston
Mills Press, 2003. Explores research, construction, tests flights and adventures of early flying pioneers, the dramatic expansion of military aviation brought on by World War I and the rise of commercial aviation in the 1920s and 1930s.
Stoff, Joshua. Picture History of Early Aviation, 1903–1913. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1995. Excellent pictorial history lavishly chronicles the exciting saga of the first fliers and their machines. Over 250 photographs introduce such early pioneers of flight as the Wright brothers, Glenn Curtiss, many others.
Yenne, Bill. Legends of Flight. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, 1997. Produced with the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Profiles some of most legendary aircraft and personalities spanning the incredible century of aviation from 1900 to 2000.
Inventors
Burton, Walt and Owen Findsen. The Wright Brothers Legacy. New York: Harry
Abrams, Inc., 2003. Celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, with in-depth photographic portrait of their pioneering work in aviation.
Crouch, Tom D. The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. Reissue of definitive biography heralds the hundredth anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight. Brilliant, self-trained engineers, the Wright brothers had a unique blend of native talent, character and family experience that perfectly suited them to the task of invention but left them ill-prepared to face a world of skeptics, rivals and officials. Using Wright family correspondence and diaries, Crouch skillfully weaves the story of the airplane's invention into the drama of a unique and unforgettable family.
Jakab, Peter L. Visions of a Flying Machine: The Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997. Thoroughly researched and well written, this is a scholarly assessment of the engineering methods used by the Wright Brothers. Jakab documents the progression of their experiments to refine the wings, propulsion system and control and balance designs that led to a flyable airplane. He underscores the Wrights' hard work and perseverance.
Jakab, Peter L. and Rick Young. The Published Writings of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2004. Nearly 70 technical and popular articles, speeches, interviews, letters and other writings by the brothers span from their experiments with gliders at the beginning of the twentieth century to Orville's death in 1948. They describe the design of their aircraft, early test flights, camp life at Kitty Hawk, airplane stability, the future of commercial aviation and air travel, sport flying, air safety, military aviation and more.
Kirk, Stephen. First in Flight: The Wright Brothers in North Carolina. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1995. Chronicles the time that the Wright Brothers spent on North Carolina's outer banks, perfecting their flying machine.
Daredevil Fliers
Bledsoe, Karen E. Daredevils of the Air: Thrilling Tales of Pioneer Aviators. Greensboro, NC: Avisson Press, 2003. Fly away with the men and women who first opened the skies for all, whose amazing stories of adventure still thrill us today. This book includes chapters on the Wright brothers, Glenn Curtiss, Lincoln Beachey, Bessie Coleman and Charles Lindbergh.
Moolman, Valerie. Women Aloft. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1981. Focusing on the role of women in the early days of aviation, this book looks at the world’s first aviatrixes, their quests to compete with men in the realm of flying and how they contributed to air forces during times of war.
Rich, Doris L. Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993. This biography presents the brief but intense life of Bessie Coleman, America’s first African American female aviator.
Explorers
Byrd, Richard E. Alone. Covelo, CA: Island Press, 1938. Classic account of Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s ordeal in the Antarctic where he survived five months of polar darkness by himself. It is one of the strangest and most significant accounts of exploration ever written.
Byrd, Richard E. Skyward: Man’s Mastery of the Air. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1928. Eyewitness account of the people and events behind the rise of American aviation: the period of aviation experimentation after World War I; arctic expeditions; attempts to prove the feasibility of international air travel; plans to fly over the South Pole.
Rodgers, Eugene. Beyond the Barrier: The Story of Byrd’s First Expedition to Antarctica. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990. Story of Byrd’s 1928 Antarctic expedition rivals any fictional adventure tale. Byrd and his men encountered extreme dangers and endured severe hardships to claim a series of unprecedented achievements. This provocative reassessment of an American hero answers important questions about the man and his accomplishments.
Record Breakers
Berg, Scott A. Lindbergh. New York: Berkeley Books, 1999. Few American icons provoke more enduring fascination than Charles Lindbergh -- renowned for his one-man transatlantic flight in 1927, remembered for the sorrow surrounding the kidnapping and death of his firstborn son in 1932 and reviled by many for his opposition to America's entry into World War II. This biography -- written with unrestricted access to the Lindbergh archives and extensive interviews of his friends, colleagues and close family members -- is "the definitive account."
Doolittle, James H. I Could Never Be So Lucky Again. New York: Bantam, 1991. In this Doolittle recounts his life of adventure and achievement, from his stunt piloting when he thrilled the world with his aerial acrobatics to his fearless leadership as an air warrior during World War II, immortalized in the film Thirty Seconds Over Toyko.
Jessen, Gene Nora. The Powder Puff Derby of 1929: the True Story of the First Women’s
Cross-Country Air Race. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2002. Unforgettable, true story of the first major female airplane race (which was won by Louise Thaden). Despite countless crashes, sexist critics and one horrendous fatality, the racers captivated the nation and pioneered a new future and respect for female aviators.
Lindbergh, C.A. The Spirit of St. Louis. New York: Scribner, 1998. Charles Lindbergh captured the world's imagination when he piloted his single-engine plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, from New York to Paris on the first nonstop solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean in May of 1927. First published in 1953, this firsthand account carries the reader along on this historic adventure.
Lindbergh, Charles. We. Guildford, CT: First Lyons Press, 2002. Republication of Lindbergh’s own 1927 account of his life leading up to his historic flight gives you a glimpse into the colorful, risk-filled world of the professional pilot in the early days of flight.
Matthews, Birch. Race With the Wind: How Air Racing Advanced Aviation. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing, 2001. Engaging history of the sport of air racing that demonstrates how the fire of competition spawned significant scientific advancements in everything from propulsion to wing design.
Roseberry, C.R. Glenn Curtiss: Pioneer of Flight. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1991. Curtiss, an associate of Alexander Graham Bell and bitter enemy of the Wright brothers, achieved several notable firsts in American aviation. This book captures the excitement, suspense and camaraderie of the pioneer days of flying.
Shulman, Seth. Unlocking the Sky: Glenn Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Invent the Airplane. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Curtiss was one of the greatest aviators and aeronautical inventors of all time -- first to publicly fly, the first to commercially sell an airplane, first to fly from one American city to another, first American licensed pilot. Recounts many of his accomplishments and tells the story of the race to design and manufacture airplanes.
Thaden, Louise. High, Wide and Frightened. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 2004. Originally published in 1938, this is the autobiography of one of America's greatest women pilots, Louise Thaden. The unassuming contemporary of Amelia Earhart describes the dangers of racing and setting records in the fragile and precarious aircraft of aviation's youth.
Vorderman, Don. The Great Air Races. New York: Bantam Books, 1989. Forward by Jimmy Doolittle. Details the history of the five great air racing classics -- the Thompson, Bendix, Schneider, Pulitzer and Gordon Bennett races -- during the heyday of air racing, 1909 to 1939.
Entrepreneurs
Allen, Oliver E. The Airline Builders. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1981. Many photographs. Chapters on the European trailblazers of the airline industry, America’s young airlines, the Big Four, the DC-3 and Juan Trippe (founder of PanAm).
Heppenheimer, T.A. Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995. (Sloan Technology Series.) Details history of commercial aviation, from its first days as an airmail service to the competitive world of commercial carriers today.
Ingells, Douglas J. The Plane that Changed the World: A Biography of the DC-3. Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers, 1966. Highly detailed story of DC-3, how the history of aviation, research and inventions from other aircraft were brought together to make the finest airship ever. Must-read to find how Boeing, TWA, United and American airlines competed to win the skies and hearts of those who wanted to get there faster and in the lap of luxury.
Lewis, Walter David. Delta: The History of an Airline. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1979. Comprehensive account of growth and development of Delta Air Lines, beginning in the 1920s as a lowly crop-dusting operation in Louisiana. The focus is on the milestones in Delta's evolution, the personalities that contributed most significantly to the development of its strategy and style.
Szurovy, Geza. Classic American Airlines. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing, 2000. Stunning period photographs, memorabilia, period advertising and images of restored historic airliners. Story of the aircraft that created the aviation industry and the airlines behind their creation.
Zukowsky, John, ed. Building for Air Travel: Architecture and Design for Commercial Aviation. Chicago: The Art Institute and Prestel-Verlag, 1996. Examines development of architecture and design for air travel from 1909. Developments in airport architecture, aircraft construction and interior design and airline corporate identity.
Children’s Books
General Aviation
Blackburn, Ken and Jeff Lammers. Kids’ Paper Air Plane Book. New York: Workman Publishing, 1996. Everything you need to fold and fly a squadron of bold, bright, custom-designed paper aircraft (16 models).
Boyne, Walter J. The Smithsonian Book of Flight for Young People. New York: Atheneum, 1988. Lavishly illustrated history of aviation celebrates flight and the men and women who made it possible, from earliest hot air balloonists to modern-day astronauts.
Burkett, Molly. Pioneers of the Air. New York: Barron’s, 1998. History of flight, from the first successful attempts to today’s supersonic aircraft and the men and women who have shaped the course of aviation history.
Jefferis, David. Flight, Fliers and Flying Machines. New York: Franklin Watts, 1991. Traces evolution of airplane from man’s first flying machine to today’s supersonic jets.
The Magic School Bus: Taking Flight. New York: Scholastic, 1997. Mrs. Frizzle takes the children on an airplane ride that teaches them how to steer a plane, how airplanes achieve lift and how they are propelled forward.
Murawski, Laura. How to Draw Airplanes. New York: PowerKids Press, 2001. How to draw various airplanes, including the Wright Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis and the DC-3.
Shuter, Jane. Flying High: Air Travel Past and Present. Chicago: Raintree, 2004. How airplane transportation evolved and how it has affected people’s lives by exploring inventors, early aviators, passenger planes and more.
The Visual Dictionary of Flight. New York: Dorling Kindersley, Inc., 1992. Visual dictionary looks at the inner workings of planes and other flying machines of all kinds. Over 200 original photographs and graphic illustrations.
Inventors
Busby, Peter. First to Fly: How Wilbur and Orville Wright Invented the Airplane. New York: Crown Publishers, 2002. Lves of the Wright brothers, from their childhood interest in flight, through their study of successful gliders and other flying machines, to their triumphs at Kitty Hawk and beyond.
Borden, Louise and Trish Marx. Touching the Sky: The Flying Adventures of Wilbur andOrville Wright. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2003. Hw the Wright brothers became the first celebrities of the twentieth century through their 1909 public flying exhibitions in New York City and Germany.
Carson, Mary Kay. The Wright Brothers for Kids: How They Invented the Airplane. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2003. Vntage photographs, a timeline, a glossary and the words of Wilbur and Orville Wright, with 21 activities that demonstrate the brothers’ solutions to the technical challenges of lift, thrust, gravity and drag.
Edwards, Pamela Duncan. The Wright Brothers. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. 2003. Picture book introducing children to the steps that led up to the Wright brothers’ remarkable historic accomplishment.
Ford, Carin T. The Wright Brothers: Heroes of Flight. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2003. Historical photographs. Profiles the two brothers whose childhood interest in flight led them to build a successful flying machine.
Freedman, Russell. The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane. New York: Holiday House, 1991.Follow the lives of the Wright brothers and how they developed the first airplane. With 94 photographs by the Wright Brothers and their contemporaries.
Gaines, Ann. Discover the Life of an Inventor: Orville and Wilbur Wright. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Publishing, 2002. Historical photographs and simplified text introduce young readers to the accomplishments of the Wright brothers.
Hansen, Ole Steen. The Wright Brothers and Other Pioneers of Flight. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2003. The triumphs and follies of aviation’s greatest pioneers and how their achievement paved the way for modern flight.
Hudson, Margaret. The Wright Brothers. Des Plaines, IL: Heinemann Interactive Library, 1999. Designed for very young readers. Simple introduction to lives and work of the two brothers who invented the first engine-driven flying machine.
Krensky, Stephen. Taking Flight: The Story of the Wright Brothers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. How the Wright brothers came to build and fly the first powered aircraft.
MacLeod, Elizabeth. The Wright Brothers: A Flying Start. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press, 2002. Fun book of photographs and anecdotes that tell the story of the Wrights frustrating obstacles and sky-high achievements.
Olds, Wendie. To Fly: The Story of the Wright Brothers. New York: Clarion Books, 2002. Illustrated with watercolor paintings. Personable biography details the lives and work of the Wright brothers and their unique collaboration.
Schaefer, Lola M. The Wright Brothers. Mankato, MN: Pebble Books, 2000. Simple text and photographs present the lives of Wilbur and Orville Wright and their pioneering efforts in the development of the airplane.
Shea, George. First Flight: The Story of Tom Tate and the Wright Brothers. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. Based on the true story of the first boy to fly at Kitty Hawk.
Weitzman, David. Jenny: The Airplane that Taught America to Fly. Brookfield, CT: Roaring Brook Press, 2002. Development and history of the JN-4D airplane, commonly called the Jenny. Helps young readers understand not only how these planes were built, but how their control surfaces worked and how they flew.
Yolen, Jane. My Brothers’ Flying Machine. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2003. Provides a look at the lives of Orville and Wilbur Wright through the eyes of their younger sister Katherine, who supported and encouraged them while they worked on their inventions.
Daredevil Fliers
Borden, Louise and Mary Kay Kroeger. Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2001. The life of the determined African-American woman who went all the way to France to earn her pilot’s license in 1921.
Gaffney, Timothy R. Air Show Pilots and Airplanes. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2001. Insight into modern day air shows, where pilots recreate the aerobatic flying of early aviation with high-quality equipment and razor-sharp skills.
Grimes, Nikki. Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman. New York: Orchard Books, 2002. Richly imagined monologues about Bessie Coleman’s life to challenge readers to push beyond our limitations to pursue our dreams.
Hansen, Ole Steen. Amazing Flights: The Golden Age. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2003. During Golden Age of flight, planes were pushed to their limit, as pilots raced to be the first to cross oceans and continents and barnstormers and daredevils thrilled crowds with their aerobatics.
Johnson, Dolores. She Dared to Fly: Bessie Coleman. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1997. Details the life of Bessie Coleman, the first licensed African-American pilot.
Joseph, Lynn. Fly, Bessie, Fly. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. The inspirational true story of aviator Bessie Coleman.
Lindbergh, Reeve. Nobody Owns the Sky. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1996. Charles Lindberg’s daughter, Reeve, creates rhymed telling of the life of Bessie Coleman, who dreamed of flying as a child in the cotton fields of Texas and persevered until she made that dream come true.
McLoone, Margo. Women Explorers of the Air. Mankato, MN: Capstone Books. 2000. Llives and accomplishments of five women who were early pioneers of aviation: Harriet Quimby, Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart, Beryl Markham and Jacqueline Cochran.
Plantz, Connie. Bessie Coleman: First Black Woman Pilot. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2001. Biography of the famous aviator capturing all the tension and excitement of Bessie Coleman’s soaring achievements.
Tessendorf, K.C. Barnstormers & Daredevils. New York: Atheneum, 1988. Filled with anecdotes about the dangerous acrobatics and stunts performed by thrill-seeking exhibition flyers during the 1920s.
Van Steenwyk, Elizabeth. Air Shows. New York: Franklin Watts, 1998. History of air shows from the first air races to modern events. Excellent background about the fearless pilots who have thrilled crowds with this exciting form of aerial entertainment.
Wells, Rosemary. Wingwalker. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2002. During the Depression, Reuben and his out-of-work parents move from Oklahoma to Minnesota, where his father gets a job as a carnival wing walker and Reuben has a chance to overcome his terror of flying.
Zaunders, Bo. Feathers, Flaps and Flops: Fabulous Early Fliers. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 2001. Great stories of famous fliers such as the Montgolfier Brothers, Alberto Santos-Dumont, Cal Rodgers, Bessie Coleman, Jimmy Doolittle, Beryl Markham and “Wrong Way” Corrigan, all early pioneers of aviation.
Explorers
Burleigh, Robert. Black Whiteness: Admiral Byrd Alone in the Antarctic. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1998. Account of Admiral Richard Byrd’s stay alone in a small shack during an Antarctic winter captures the wonder, the terror, the courage and the will of one man to stay alive under the most brutal of conditions.
Spinelli, Eileen. Something to Tell the Grandcows. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2004. Hoping to have an adventure to impress her grandcows, Emmaline the cow joins Admiral Richard E. Byrd on his 1933 expedition to the South Pole.
Record Breakers
Berliner, Don. Distance Flights. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1990. Great distance flights from the first successful crossing of the English Channel by Louis Blériot in 1909 to the circling of the earth without refueling by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in 1986.
Borden, Louise. Good-bye, Charles Lindbergh. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1998. Based on a true story. Tale of a farm boy who meets his hero, Colonel Charles Lindbergh, when he lands his biplane in a field near Canton, Mississippi, in 1929.
Brown, Don. Ruth Law Thrills a Nation. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1993. The record-breaking flight of a daring woman pilot, Ruth Law, from Chicago to New York in 1916.
Burleigh, Robert. Flight. New York: Philomel Books, 1991. Charles Lindbergh’s remarkable nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927; dramatic paintings.
Collins, David R. Charles Lindbergh: Hero Pilot. New York: Chelsea Juniors, 1991. Biography tells dramatic story that made Lindbergh a living legend, focusing on his life up to and including his1927 solo transatlantic crossing.
Demarest, Chris L. Lindbergh. New York: Crown Publishers, 1993. Early life of Charles Lindbergh, leading up to his history-making transatlantic flight in 1927.
Giblin, James Cross. Charles A. Lindbergh: A Human Hero. New York: Clarion Books, 1997. Many historical photographs. Recounts the life of Lindbergh with its triumph, tragedy and controversy.
Kent, Zachary. Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis in American History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2001. Biography with an emphasis on the preparation for and details of his solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris in The Spirit of St. Louis in 1927.
Koopmans, Andy. The Importance of Charles Lindbergh. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2003. Thorough biography profiles childhood, education, interest in aviation, fame, tragedy and controversy surrounding the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Meachum, Virginia. Charles Lindbergh: American Hero of Flight. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2002. Quotes and stories reveal the man behind the legend --from the glory of his historic flight to the tragedy and controversy of his later life.
Mitchell, Charles R. and Kirk W. House. Glenn H. Curtiss: Aviation Pioneer. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2001. Curtiss’s breakneck course across North America and Europe setting speed and distance records, experimenting with military applications and always striving for a safer, faster airplane. Fostering both seaplanes and shipboard landing, he became the Father of Naval Aviation. Tracks his dizzying ride from a village bicycle shop to record-smashing motorcycle races, futuristic travel trailers, and city building in the Florida land boom.
Moss, Marissa. Brave Harriet. New York: Harcourt, 2001. First American woman to have received a pilot’s license describes her April 1912 solo flight across the English Channel, the first such flight by any woman.
Entrepreneurs
Hansen, Ole Steen. The Story of Commercial Aviation. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2003. Vivid illustrations and photographs show aviation’s greatest moments, famous pilots, and the multitude of aircraft to date from military to commercial planes.
Jefferis, David. Giants of the Air: The Story of Commercial Aviation. New York: Franklin
Watts, 1988. Development of airlines, from the first rickety biplanes to today’s supersonic jets.
Lines, Cliff. Looking at Passenger Aircraft. New York: Bookwright Press, 1985. Details how passenger aircraft were invented, how they have changed over the years, how they work and the part they play in our lives today.
SEE ALSO
RESOURCES part 2 (Technology) for audio, video, CDROMs, websites, etc.
RESOURCES part 3 – Suggested Readings & resources especially for children
This information is an edited version of The Educational Programming Guide for Heroes of the Sky, © July 2007, ExhibitsUSA, a Division of Mid-America Arts Alliance. Edit by Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation for website and classroom use.