How'd They Do That?: Grandparents Answer Questions about the Wright Brothers and Amelia Earhart

by Joseph Howard Cooper, Patricia DeWitt (Illustrator), Robin DeWitt (Illustrator)

Overview

Well before AI was "born", before Graphing Calculators were available to solve algebraic, geometric and trigonometric problems, the Wright Brothers designed an airplane that actually took flight.

Before there was GPS, before there were navigation and weather satellites, and before the first turbo-jet aircraft, Amelia Earhart bravely flew across oceans and against bias.

The courage and dedication of those three aviators are spoken of here, in grandparent-grandchild conversations.


"Wilbur and Orville had endured periods of ridicule and abuse such as seldom been known in the history of scientific investigations. Through straightforwardness, intelligence, and tenacity, the Wright brothers achieved one of the most beautiful inventions of the human genius."

at an awards ceremony
November 1908


Amelia Earhart had flown over the Atlantic Ocean, alone. She had been in the air almost 16 hours. As she climbed down from her plane, a farmer approached and asked where she'd come from. She replied, "America." She then asked, "Where exactly am I?" The surprised farmer replied, as if it was obvious, "Gallagher's pasture!"

as reported in several newspapers published in Ireland, May 1932

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781039176263
Publisher:	FriesenPress
Publication date:	11/23/2023
Pages:	132
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 12 Years

About the Author

Joseph Howard Cooper published book, movie, and stage-play appreciations at the Huffington Post, and The Christian Science Monitor. His "Pauses and Moments" stories appeared at PsychologyToday.com.

His one-act plays were performed at the New Haven International Festival of Arts & Ideas. More recently, his screenplays - the semi-autobiographical "Life after Lebanon" and the whimsical "Escapes: The Grandpa Chronicles" - have been recognized in a dozen global film-festival script competitions.

Cooper's own experience as a grandfather during the COVID-19 pandemic inspired "Grandpa's lonely, isn't he?", his 2022 debut picture book. His "FaceTime with Grandma" and "What was it like? D-Day June 1944" are works in progress. He lives in Culver City, California.

Editorial Reviews

2024-03-22
Two grandparents convey the histories of famous fliers in Joseph Howard Cooper’s book.

As the book opens, a grandfather recounts the Wright Brothers’ journey—from their early birdwatching to their constructing wind tunnels for experiments and choosing North Carolina as an ideal flight-test site. Cooper touches on key themes of commitment, dedication, preparation, and perseverance while telling how the siblings outpaced their better-funded rivals. The book’s first part depicts a conversation between a granddad and grandson, interspersing dialogue with helpful clarifications of complex vocabulary, including terms such as equilibrium (“compensated for”) and altimeter to ensure that technical aspects of aviation are accessible for young readers. The detailed, full-color illustrations by Patricia DeWitt and Robin DeWitt will appeal to young audiences; the main characters are depicted as anthropomorphized animals in human clothing. The grandfather is a wise, jolly dog with white whiskers, and the grandson is an enthusiastic young reptile, often dressed in a karate gi. The book’s second part moves into a furry, rabbitlike grandmother’s story of Amelia Earhart, told to two young mammals who look like lion cubs. After a smooth transition, Earhart’s story begins with her visit to see the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk before moving into her historic solo flight across the Atlantic. This section hews closely to Earhart’s memoirs, including some of her most poetic descriptions of flying. In this way, Earhart’s pioneering spirit is effectively shown to inspire the gathered grandkids and is likely to similarly resonate with youngsters considering engineering or piloting careers. Detailed endnotes, including Earhart’s flight maps, links to online databases, and key primary source excerpts, help round out the book as a potentially useful teaching tool.

An informative and engaging survey of aviation pioneers, perfect for kids, adult caregivers, and STEM educators.

Kirkus Reviews

The title of this book tells it all. Especially for kids who want to learn more about the great adventures of the heroes who conquered the skies in the early years of the last century...
—AviationBookReviews.com

Flight pioneers Amelia Earhart and the Wright brothers are the stars of How'd They Do That?, a colorful first look at these historical figures for younger readers. Joseph Cooper has always enjoyed sharing his own fascination with how new feats of science were developed and wrote the book as a "resource to be held onto." Suitable for all generations.
—Wharton Magazine

...The "How'd they do that?" format is certainly something that appeals to most preschoolers. But it is the subject matter that makes this book important for many of the AFHF Journal's readers. Two icons from the birth of aviation — the Wright Brothers and Amelia Earhart — are the subjects. Their ties to military aviation are minimal, but the achievements they made certainly formed the foundation of much of what we students of air-power get to read about. How to explain those achievements to grandchildren — or any young people who are generationally and experientially far removed from us — is what Cooper addresses...

Cooper presents running dialogs between grandparents and grandchildren to show how two brothers with high-school educations worked out the complex problem of controlled, powered flight. Through dogged observation, experimentation, and perseverance, they developed a solution. Amelia Earhart — a woman in the days when women just didn't do this stuff (another thing to explain to kids growing up in a far-more gender-neutral society) — became the first to accomplish many aerial feats. Determination and study were essential factors for both the brothers and Earhart...

We adults need to have these kinds of conversations to motivate young people. They need to study and learn — STEM education comes through loud and clear. Success is generally not an overnight event. It comes from grabbing hold of a problem and applying knowledge and determination. And gender should be no barrier. I liked the book. It's a fine introduction to some great pioneers in aviation, but it is so much more.
—The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation

From the Publisher