The Glorious Flight

The Glorious Flight Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot July 25, 1909. ISBN: 0-14-050729-9. Alice and Martin Provensen. 1983. Caldecott Medal. Historical Fiction. Age PreK-grade 2 +. Caucasian Europeans.

This is a historical story about Louis Bleriot, a great engineer, who invented the automobile searchlight and became a great pioneer of aviation. This book tells the story, with bits of humor and great persistence, of how he set his mind to building an aircraft that he eventually flies over the English Channel. The artwork shows the details of his aircraft. It also shows humorous pictures of when he "hit" obstacles. However, he never gave up and was never defeated.

I would use this in either discussing geography of Europe. I would also use it as a life skill tool. I would have the kids write down their goal. Then I would have them write all of the obstacles that they may find while trying to reach that goal. Then we would brainstorm possible solutions to overcome those obstacles. I would have children chart their progress in journals, and share how much they have accomplished in a specified amount of time.