A Dream of Flight: Alberto Santos-Dumont's Race Around the Eiffel Tower

(Hardback)

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Description

Years before the invention of the modern airplane, Alberto Santos-Dumont dreamed of flying. As a boy, he was mesmerized by the machinery on his father's coffee plantation in Brazil and went on to study science and engineering in France. Soon his groundbreaking-and sometimes silly-inventions became the talk of Paris, especially after he set his sights on building an airship that could bring the world's people together. His small stature and big ideas earned him the nickname "Le Petite Santos." This is the story of Santos's successful race for the Deutsche Prize, and his many failures along the way. Chock-full of cool diagrams, charming Parisian scenes, and graphic novel-style spot illustrations, A Dream of Flight will have young readers looking to the sky and scheming up their own aerial inventions.

Reviews

*A 2020 NSTA Best Stem Book!*

"An engaging book about a larger-than-life character." --Kirkus Reviews

"Rob Polivka's lively illustration style, reminiscent of Herg's, offers an animated sense of adventure sure to interest the engineering minded." --Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Rob Polivka lives in Plano, Texas, with his wife and their two young daughters. He runs an Etsy business creating custom family portraits, a perfect venue for his finely detailed yet warm and approachable style. robpolivka.com Jef Polivka-Searle, Rob's brother, collaborates with Rob from his home in Allen, Texas.