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

The brothers Polivka join forces on this iterative picture book biography of aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, who grows up fascinated by machinery on his family’s Brazilian coffee plantation. After heading to France to study science and becoming inspired by a hot air balloon ride over the City of Light, Santos painstakingly designs a series of motorized airships. He perseveres through multiple failures and in 1901 wins the coveted Deutsch Prize—100,000 francs—for piloting across town, around the Eiffel Tower, and back in 30 minutes, demonstrating sustained controlled flight. Rob Polivka’s lively illustration style, reminiscent of Hergé’s, offers an animated sense of adventure; one spread, sure to interest the engineering minded, features the first five attempted airships. Back matter includes a timeline that contextualizes the subject’s accomplishments alongside other turn-of-the-century aviation milestones. Ages 4–8. [em](July) [/em]