The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot

A Frenchman named Louis Bleriot falls in love with flying machines and, after a string of failed contraptions, builds the plane that will attempt something no one has ever done: fly across the English Channel.

For the kid who lines up toy planes on the windowsill and asks how things fly, this is a book about the real man who helped answer that question.

• Big idea: Big dreams take failure after failure before they take flight.
• Vibes: Old-fashioned, sunny, and quietly triumphant, with a gentle sense of wonder about early flight.

• are curious about planes, machines, and how things work
• enjoy stories about real people and real history
• are working on understanding that failing is part of trying
• respond well to detailed illustrations they can study page after page

• Story & problem-solving: What kinds of flying machines do you think Louis Bleriot might have tried before he built one that worked?
• Feelings & empathy: How do you think Louis felt every time one of his machines didn't fly?
• Real-life connection: Have you ever kept trying at something even after it didn't work the first time?
• Imagination: If you could build your own flying machine, what would it look like?
• Story & problem-solving: Why do you think crossing the English Channel by air was such a big deal at the time?