Before Wilbur and Orville Wright, there was The Flying Man. Otto Lilienthal lived in Germany, and from a young age, he dreamed of soaring in the air like a bird. He and his brother, Gustav experimented with making wings to fly. Unsurprising, wings did not work, as he could not flap them quickly enough and they were certainly too heavy. After many failed attempts, In 1891 Otto found success in making a successful hang glider for traveling through the air, more than a decade before the Wright brothers flew through the air.

In the biographical picture book The Flying Man: Otto Lilienthal the World’s First Pilot by Mike Downs, illustrated by David Hohn (Astra Young Readers, December 2022), young readers learn about this first successful aviator. After a time, brother Gustav was injured in a trial flight and so he did not continue in the trials (which I assume is why these two did not become a set of brother aviators as did the Wrights). Wilbur and Orville Wright credited Otto for the inspiration and design ideas they used for their own continued flight improvements.

Of course, Otto’s flight was different from the Wright brothers’ flights. Otto used gravity to bring himself through the air from a higher place to a lower place. However, the success of flying through the air in gliders more than 2,000 times gave scientists a better idea of the practicality of someday achieving manned flight with machines heavier than air. Otto Lilienthal, the first pilot truly was a pioneer of aerodynamics, discovering and understanding the principles before any others. He died in 1896 after a crash on his glider.

Mike Downs’s picture book draws in young readers by beginning with his experiments as a young child. It may be difficult for kids to comprehend a day before the discovery of flight, and Downs nicely describes the desires of a young child to try the unthinkable, to dream beyond his own experiences. The illustrations paint the wonder Otto must have felt as he looked down at the world and the small people below him. I love how in one particular illustration, his eyes are closed in bliss as he experiences the feeling of flying.

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book.

Our school is a Civil Air Patrol/Air Force Association Aerospace Education School. We use the Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) curriculum to support our STEM program in grades K-5, so I am always on the lookout for new books about flight and space. This picture book biography of Otto Lilienthal tells how his boyhood dream of flying like the birds led to 30 years of inventing and improving his designs. Hailed by the Wright brothers as their greatest inspiration, Lilienthal created gliders with flappable wings and wanted to find a way to create an engine light and powerful enough to be used on his inventions. The backmatter in the book includes images from his design sketches and a note from the author about having to find a translator to research in the material written in German about this figure from the early years of man's path to powered flight. An archival photo of Otto flying in one of his gliders graces the back cover of the book. Illustrations in the book were created with a combination of digital watercolor, gouache and colored pencils. Images show the Lilienthal brothers (Otto and Gustav) at work creating different versions of machines with flappable wings and testing them out. One even looks like it is powered by an elliptical machine!

A great story for demonstrating the power of perseverance, as well as introducing young readers to an early aviation pioneer they may not have heard of before.

Did you know that the Wright Brothers cited Otto Lilienthal as an inspiration in their development of the first powered airplane? Lilienthal flew before them, on August 2, 1896 - using glider wings. I loved this reminder that the people we recognize as great inventors are almost always building on the work of others who came before them. I also especially liked that this book is highlighting a non-American; Lilienthal was German. A fun book for young inventors and future pilots and engineers.
Review based on an eARC received through NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Astra Publishing for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fairly straightforward biography picture book targeted at older kids. There is a lot of text on the page which is a good thing here since it means more information on the subject. The author is taking the time to make the prose interesting, but the factual nature of the style makes it still a little dry for younger kids. If your child is into flying or airplanes, I think this would be a big hit. The undercurrent of the narrative also speaks of determination and hope and I love that message for anyone!

This biography is truly a winner! It shows how two brothers, Otto and Gustav Lilienthal, built a flying machine that had serious problems, and then a glider that managed to fly. It took years and years of trial and error to refine their approach. The book emphasizes the extensive study and investigation required. It celebrates the joy of learning.

The text and illustrations work seamlessly together to support understanding. Many diagrams, sketches and illustrations bring this story to life. The themes of persistence and continued learning are emphasized. The back matter, too, is exceptional. Overall, the author’s and illustrator’s passion for this true story shines through.