Almost Underwear: How a Piece of Cloth Traveled from Kitty Hawk to the Moon and Mars

Published: Christy Ottaviano Books (August 20, 2024)

Pages: 40

Grade Level: K - 4

ISBN:   978-0316525541 

I nearly ignored this wonderful book simply because of the first part of the title, but when I read the subtitle, I was on board.  In 1903, the Wright Brothers went to buy a bolt of fabric to cover the glider wings of the new fantastical way to travel.  They bought a bolt of unbleached muslin, which was normally used to make sturdy and practical things like underwear.  After the first plane was put into storage, Orville donated swatches of the original wing fabric to a museum in the 1940s.  In 1969 Neil Armstrong was getting ready to fly to the moon and was allowed to pack a few lightweight items in a small fireproof fiber bag.  He included a swatch of the original wing fabric from the Wright brothers’ plane. Then, in 2020, a team of engineers cut a tiny swatch from the original wing fabric and attached it to the Martian lander, Perseverance.   

I love that our space program honored the Wright brothers who started it all with their glider and some plain unbleached muslin. 

Reviewed by Audrey Campbell, MED

Reading Specialist and Library Media Center Director

Valley Adventist Schools, Rogers Campus

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