The Flying Man: The Life of Otto Lilienthal, the World’s First Pilot

PreS-Gr 4–A picture book biography about German-born Otto Lilienthal and his brother Gustav, who built equipment that was meant to be human-powered and allowed people to soar, not float, through the air. Lovely realistic art shows the boys’ inspiration in storks and other birds, and also conveys the joy of flying. When Otto was 14, he and Gustav began experimenting with different kinds of wings and apparatus. Gustav was badly injured in one attempt and never tried again, but Otto persisted and eventually succeeded in making short flights. Unfortunately, he was badly injured in a crash and did not survive his injuries. However, his work ended up inspiring many other fliers, including the Wright brothers. Readers will marvel at Lilienthal’s perseverance of his dream over the span of his life and the research he did into the flight of birds as it related to his designs.