The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot July 25, 1909 (Picture Puffins)

Caldecott Medal. Louis Bleriot sees a machine flying in the air in 1901 in France years before the Wright brothers make their first flight. The sight causes him to crash into another wagon in town, and it is then he knows he too much accomplish the daring task of flight. The book recaps his

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attempts to reach this goal. The central issue in this book is achieving the extraordinary and following one's dreams. This book would be appropriate for grades 1-3.

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Documents the story of Louis Bleriot and his quest for flight concluding in his flight across the English Channel.

This book is about a man named Mr. Louis Ble’riot, the story is set in France and he has the dream to one day build his very own plane and to fly it. After several failed attempts and some minor injuries, he finally sets out to fly across the English Channel and on July 25, 1909 his dream comes

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true and with the crowds cheering him on he reaches England in just thirty-seven minutes.

I enjoyed reading this book, I especially enjoyed the nice ending, it was a bit touching as well, and it made me feel like I was there with the cheering crowd rooting for him. I did however; find that as the story stared and on in toward the middle it was a bit hard to follow in a way, the structure was a bit choppy, nonetheless it was a nice read. A nice historical fiction book that would be good for the older primary grade levels due to the choppiness of the story. The illustrations on the other hand were absolutely wonderful. They were brilliantly drawn, emotionally, realistically, and flowed perfect with the story.

My class would write in their journal of a dream that they too would one day want to pursue and accomplish like Mr. Ble’riot had done in the story. I would also like to hear from the students what they thought happened once the family reunited with their father at home, for example have the students come up with an extended ending to the story once Mr. Ble’riot arrived home, did the town throw him a victory party?, how did each family member respond to their father’s victory? Another fun class project would be to have each student construct his or her own airplane using the craft supplies, decorating them, and naming the aircraft like Mr. Ble’riot had named each of his planes using his last name and a number, the students could relate by naming their planes too.

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The Provensens tells the story of Louis, a boy (and then a man) who stated he was going to build a flying machine, and then set out to do it. He faced some challenges and disappointments, but ultimately prevails after flying over the Channel. The story is told is short, simple sentences, and

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accompanied with colorful illustrations. Children will love the tale of a child who overcomes obstacles to achieve a great accomplishment.

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This book is about Louis Bleriot. A man who saw a flying air craft, and decided to build a better one. After six years and many failures Louis was successful. After building the plain he flew it across the English Channel. I would do a study on the bulding of air crafts. I would use this book to

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show what one man did and accoplished to help his country. I would also use this book to encourage the students to follow their own dreams.

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The time is the early 1900’s in France with Louis Bleriot and his family. What do you already know about the picture on the front? Do you know who was the first person to fly a plane? Most Americans learn about the Wright brothers as the inventors of airplanes so this book is a great introduction

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into the idea that other countries were trying to get into the air as well. This is a story of the first airplane to fly over the English Channel. I found it fascinating that I never learned about this myself and it had me in inquiry mode in comparing the Wright Brothers to Louis Bleriot. They were in competition at the time. They were experimenting with flight at the same time from different countries and both were of great importance to the history of aviation in the world.

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The flight that Louis Bleriot flew over the Channel. Great book for 1st grade when they do thier transportation unit.

Use this book to teach avaiation. Also a Caldecott winner.

Caldecott Medal, 1984

Pictures were better than the others that I've read recently. I found the story hard to read, but that could be because I was reading it in a noisy room and was finding it difficult to concentrate. Maybe I'll try again when my attention isn't as distracted.

This picture book tells the story of the first flight across the English channel, completed by Louis Bleriot in 1909. The charming illustrations do the bulk of the storytelling, as the language in the book is very, very simple, almost poetic. Kids will love the beautiful pictures, which look like

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primitive American art and French Impressionism combined.

Louis Bleriot is a very inspiring figure, as he spent a decade building flying machine after flying machine. It wasn't until he got to the Bleriot XI that he created a successful flying machine, so his story teaches readers the importance of perseverance and dedication to one's dreams.

This book also contains a very short explanation at the end of the story about Bleriot's significance, that his flight across the English Channel "demonstrated to the world that barriers of land and sea no longer existed for the airplane." This would be a wonderful companion piece to a book about the Wright Brothers. I for one had never heard of Bleriot until reading this book.

For ages 7-9.

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This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Lois Bleriot who in 1909 after many failed attempts was the first to fly across the English Channel from France to Britain. Bleriot was a gentlemen with a large family to support and despite this he had an unanswerable urging to harness the power

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of flight. After failed attempts for ten years and several dangerous experimental flights he and his assistant believed they were ready and in 1909 he indeed accomplished his goal. This story is woven with family, dreams, and adventure. It speaks of adventure and it illustrates for chlldren the price we pay at times when we feel compelled to fulfill our dreams.

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Nice little lesson in aviation history! The dad's persistence in making his plane work a good lesson for children too. Nice pictures.

This book covers a time and a person that not many books focus on. This should be read by anyone who likes the Robert Burleigh books on Lindbergh or Earhart's flight across the Atlantic. Very strongly presented.

Caldecott Medal, 1984

Pictures were better than the others that I've read recently. I found the story hard to read, but that could be because I was reading it in a noisy room and was finding it difficult to concentrate. Maybe I'll try again when my attention isn't as distracted.

Summary:
“The Glorious Flight Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot,” is a 1984 Caldecott Medal winner. It is a historical fiction book about Louis Bleriot, who in 1901 flew across the English Channel and demonstrated to the world that there were no longer barriers between land and sea. The

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story itself begins with him introducing his family at the dinner table. They then go out for a ride in the car when they suddenly get into an accident because they’re distracted by a contraption in the sky. This sparks Louis Bleriot’s interest in aviation and he attempts to build his own flying machine. After ten failed attempts and many physical injuries, he has finally perfected the Bleriot XI. He then enters a contest to fly across the English Channel. He ends up beginning successful and flies for thirty-six minutes and lands in England.

Comments (arguments/opinions):
In my opinion this story lacked excitement and I often found myself bored. I think because the majority of the story is about the main character crashing ten planes before finally being successful. I just found this story hard to read because of the strange language and voice the author used. Maybe it has something to do with the book trying to portray France and England, but I found it a little weird. I think the lack of flowing sentences can make it confusing and I personally don’t think many children will find this an easy read. Although the story does offer some good meaningful messages, such as, a good lesson in persistence. It really focuses on family, adventure and achieving your dream. I think it shows children that with hard work you can achieve anything you want. This is apparent through the main character, Louis Bleriot’s determination to build his own plane. Although he fails ten times, he continues to keep trying until he is successful. He also uses the support he gets from his family to help him succeed. So overall, I think this book offers some good meaningful messages to children and great illustrations, but I think it lacks depth in its writing. It doesn't read as nicely as I would want it too, but it does also offer a nice history lesson in aviation as well.

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The muted colors make this look like dead history, detracting from the drama of the story. The family gets names, but not even the hero himself has a personality. There is no guide to pronunciation, which I, for one, desperately need. There is no context, no note comparing it to the Wright

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brothers' accomplishment.

I do like the style, the rhythm, of the language... it reads almost like poetry, imo. But I am not finding a way to appreciate this enough to give it an award or even to recommend it.

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This book is about Louis Bleriot. Louis Bleriot is a famous aviator, engineer, and inventor. He is known for making the first flight across the English Channel in a heavy aircraft. This book is great to use for science because it talks about design and construction, and incorporates history. It is

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also written in the form of a story to make it more engaging to readers.

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