Children will be intrigued to read about a boy who lived in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, at the time the Wright Brothers were preparing for their first flight. Tom Tate was a real boy, and this chapter book for newly independent readers describes Tom's meeting with the Wright brothers and the flight he took in one of their kite gliders. It also conveys the Wright brothers' try-try again efforts over three summers in Kitty Hawk when they tested their designs for flying machines until they finally were able to sustain a man in flight. Muted color illustrations accompany the story. (Ages 6-8)

When the Wright brothers arrived at Kitty Hawk, some folks said their dream of building a flying machine was just foolishness. But Tom Tate believed in the brothers from the start. Based on the true story of the boy who knew the Wright brothers and who flew in their glider, this child's-eye account of the creation of the first airplane will leave readers' imaginations soaring. Full color.