Flying Cars: The True Story

by Andrew Glass

Overview

Humans have always wanted to fly. As soon as there were planes and cars, many people saw a combination as the next step for personal transportation, and visionary engineers and inventors did their best to make the flying car (or the roadable plane) a reality. This book is a breezy account of hybrid vehicles and their creators, and of the intense drive that kept bringing inventors back to the drawing board despite repeated failures and the dictates of common sense. Illustrated with archival photos, this entertaining survey takes readers back as far as Icarus and forward into the present day, with a look toward the future. Includes author's note, source notes, bibliography, index. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618984824
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	08/25/2015
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	153,639
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	1340L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Andrew Glass has written several books for children and has illustrated many. He lives in New York City with his wife.

Editorial Reviews

"With attention to engineering, design, and consumer demand, this is a topic well suited to STEAM curricula that should be welcomed by science teachers, young inventors, and anyone who browses the amazing pictures and wonders, “Why not?”
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books


• "A tremendous narrative-nonfiction debut...Start your engines and get ready to take off for an amazing read."
—Kirkus, starred review

"Packed with period photographs, artists' renderings, and advertising ephemera that highlight the progression of prototypes, Glass' story of an idiosyncratic corner for the history of flight has ample eye-catching visual appeal."
—Booklist

 

From the Publisher

Featuring incredible vintage photos of car-airplane hybrids from the last hundred years, Glass meticulously details a variety of attempts at flight. His descriptions go far beyond the usual story of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. Instead, the author shares stories of lesser-known aviation inventors, such as Gustav Albin Weisskopf, who may have flown his Condor 21 two years before the Wright brothers’ first flight. Another example is Glenn Curtiss, who developed the Autoplane prototype—a plane whose wings could be removed turning it into a car. Another inventor, Juan de la Cierva, in partnership with Harold Pitcairn, created the autogyro, that was eventually replaced by the helicopter. Glass provides an entertaining overview of a very specialized topic; but unfortunately this title seems like a niche item, primarily for those especially interested in aviation history. The publisher lists the recommended ages as nine to twelve-years-old, but the dense text passages filled with historical references seem much better suited to an young adult audience. The photos are amazing, but the title lacks any kid-appeal. Reviewer: Laura Ruttig; Ages 12 up.

Children's Literature - Laura Ruttig

04/01/2015
Gr 5–8—Despite the promises of movies such as Back to the Future II, most of us do not ride in flying cars as of 2015. Glass explains why not in this intriguing work of history. Readers learn about many intriguing airplane-car hybrids, such as the Airphibian, invented by Robert Fulton, who flew his vehicle at 110 miles per hour, landed it, single-handedly converted it into a car in under five minutes, then "drove the convertible proudly into Manhattan at a breezy 55 miles per hour." These stories of invention are undeniably appealing, although Glass's storytelling sometimes obscures the history, and extraneous details occasionally distract from the book's focus. The author does not explicitly define the difference between a flying car and a plane with wheels. This distinction only becomes clear after a few chapters, and readers may be put off by lengthy technical descriptions. While a brief glossary follows the text, terms like carburetor, piston, gondola, and horsepower are not defined. VERDICT This flawed but fascinating book is best suited to larger collections and communities with strong interest in cars or aviation.—Rachel Anne Mencke, St. Matthew's Parish School, Pacific Palisades, CA

School Library Journal

★ 2015-06-06
Cars that fly? Only in stories like Harry Potter or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or fantasy films, right? Nope, flying cars have been in existence since the beginning of the 1900s. Who knew? Author-illustrator Glass departs from the world of picture books (The Wondrous Whirligig, 2003, etc.) to apply his hand to long-form nonfiction. And what a high-flying job he has done. He devotes a chapter to each of 14 visionary men who believed they could prove that cars and planes could be fused into one flying machine. First was Gustave Whitehead, who designed a bird-shaped glider named the Condor in 1901; the last was Daniel Zuck, who predicted squadrons of commuters in Plane-Mobiles. The names of their machines were as imaginative as their inventions: Henry Ford's Sky Flivver, Harold Pitcairn's Autogiro, and Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion car are just a sampling. The fascinating details of the dangers and difficulties each man faced read smoothly and engagingly. Glass' research is extensive and impeccable, and the archival black-and-white photos provide visual context. All in all, it's a tremendous narrative-nonfiction debut for a creator who's long been associated with the 32-page format. Start your engines and get ready to take off for an amazing read. (author's note, glossary, source notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews