Review by Booklist Review
Inserting cartoon figures into photos of actual sites both terrestrial and extraterrestrial and embroidering his tale with melodramatic language, Roth explains how a certain bolt of unbleached muslin has been "woven into the fabric of history." Though usually used for ladies' undergarments, the fabric, "destined for greatness" ("Not," he writes, "that underwear is bad"), was purchased by the Wright brothers in 1903 to cover the wings of their first airplane at Kitty Hawk. Then, in 1969, a piece of that original material accompanied Neil Armstrong to the moon, and in 2020, another flew over the surface of Mars attached to the rover Perseverance's late lamented little helicopter, Ingenuity. Along with noting that other bits have traveled aboard space shuttles and to the International Space Station over the years, he closes with closer looks at some Mars rover instrumentation and a final photo of the Wright Flyer on display (covered in replica cloth) at the Smithsonian. Readers with stars (and planets) in their eyes will be fascinated by this little-known swatch of detail from the story of our space program.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The unassuming roll of unbleached muslin for sale in 1903 at a store in Dayton, Ohio, might have been turned into ladies' underwear. "Not that underwear is bad," notes Roth (the Rover and Speck series). "It just isn't destined for greatness." But the Wright brothers saw something more in it: a "light, flexible, and especially strong" fabric ideal for covering the wings of the world's first airplane. After sitting in storage and being displayed in a museum, a swatch of this cloth--anthropomorphized with dot eyes and a small, expressive mouth--again and again soars into history as other aviation pioneers carry it as a kind of talisman. It accompanies Neil Armstrong to the moon in 1969 and is affixed to the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, in 2021 making "the very first flight on another planet." A blend of cartooning and archival photos from NASA and the National Air and Space Museum evokes an informative comic book feel, adding in mechanical detail that's just right for budding aeronautical gearheads. But it's the work's narrative voice, which alternates between droll humor and geeky enthusiasm, that makes this textile yarn a delight from takeoff to landing. An author's note and instrument glossary conclude. Ages 5--9. Agent: Natalie Lakosil, Irene Goodman Agency. (Aug.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3--Travel back in time to 1903 and meet a seemingly ordinary piece of fabric, originally destined to be made into women's underwear. Instead, who should purchase the bolt but the Wright brothers, using it as the wing cover for the Flyer, which would soon make history as the first airplane to be successfully airborne. After its first-of-a-kind journey, the fabric was cut into swatches and donated to a museum, seemingly finished with travel. However, its adventures did not end there: one swatch made it to the moon in 1969 with Neil Armstrong, while still another landed on the surface of Mars in 2021. Eye-catching spreads feature photographs with additional ebullient, cartoonlike illustrations, including the charming cloth and historical figures. Roth's text will enthrall readers of all ages, brimming with humor and successfully building suspense as the apparently ordinary cloth embarks on incredible adventures. VERDICT A fascinating and factual examination of a fantastic piece of flight history, and a welcome addition to all collections.--Olivia Gorecke
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Review by Horn Book Review
A small scrap of unbleached muslin (typically used for underwear in the early 1900s) traveled to the moon and back with the Apollo 11 astronauts in the summer of 1969. Sixty-six years before the flight, that swatch was part of a fabric wing that made the most consequential flight in aviation history. Though the Wright brothers' Flyer traveled only 120 feet on the sandy beaches of North Carolina, it changed humankind's relationship with gravity forever. Fifty-two years after the moon landing, 118 years after Kitty Hawk, a smaller piece of fabric from that same scrap took another historic flight, aboard NASA's Ingenuity, the autonomous helicopter that made the first controlled flight from the surface of Mars in 2021. Combining historical photographs and NASA concept art with the author's cartoonish illustrations creates an enjoyable informational picture book that connects the past to the present. Roth's clear and compelling narrative follows the swatch's fascinating journey through the history of flight. An extensive author's note fleshes out the fabric's many "adventures." Eric CarpenterSeptember/October 2024 p.105 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The tale of a well-traveled piece of cloth. Intended to be made into women's underwear, a bolt of unbleached muslin was purchased by the Wright Brothers in 1903 to cover the wings of the Flyer, which became the first airplane in history to fly. Later, the cloth was cut into swatches and donated to a museum. But this cloth still had journeys to make. One swatch flew to the moon in 1969 in a pouch carried by Neil Armstrong. In 2020, another swatch traveled to Mars with the Rover Perseverance and, in 2021, flew with the helicopter Ingenuity, "the first experimental aircraft sent to another planet." This charming story is brought to life by Roth's witty illustrations. He sets photos provided by NASA and the National Air and Space Museum against sepia backgrounds, adding cartoon figures and an appealingly personified flying piece of cloth. Laced with moments of wry humor, the text clearly describes each flight and builds drama and suspense by suggesting that after each adventure, the cloth would finally have a rest--and then promptly upending that assumption. The final spread reminds readers of these three history-making flights and shows an imagined scene of the Wright brothers standing on Mars and waving to Ingenuity. People of color appear in several of the photos. A flight of fancy--and facts--sure to set aspiring scientists' imaginations soaring. (author's note, glossary of Perseverance instruments, bibliography, photo credits) (Informational picture book. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
