Description
In this nonfiction joyride, Bertha Benz and her sons drive across Germany in the world's first automobile.
It's 1888 and Bertha Benz's husband, Karl, has invented the prototype Benz motorwagen. But the German government declares the vehicle illegal, and the church calls it the devil's work. Unbeknownst to her husband, Bertha steals away with her two sons and drives nearly one hundred miles to prove just how amazing the motorwagen is. Bertha's mechanical savvy gets the boys to Grandma's house safely, and the remarkable mother/son road trip reduces global concern about moving vehicles.
About the Author
Jan Adkins is an author, illustrator, designer, storyteller, and explainer. Most of his life he has unraveled snarls, straightened paths, and made a clearer understanding of complex and subtle matters. He has published more than 45 books, many of them non-fiction for young people. He was associate art director for National Geographic Magazine, 1980-88, researching and explaining science, medicine, technology and archaeology to its millions of readers. It was a job described by his editor-in-chief as “getting a doctorate every third month.” He taught editorial illustration at Rhode Island School of Design and at Maryland Institute College of Art. He has a regular 8 pp feature, “Getting Started In Boats,” in WoodenBoat Magazine and contributes often to several sailing magazines. He’s delighted to be a member of the iNKthink team that produces nonfictionminute.com (quick, check it out!). He’s one of the Eisterhold Associates (Kansas City, MO) designing and producing museum exhibits. A great deal of his satisfaction lies in nurturing and herding his 3 grandchildren in Gainesville, Florida, where he lives, and his 2 grandsons in Washington, DC. He walks, canoes, cycles, sails, and cooks, but his neighbors don’t know exactly what business he’s in. On Friday evenings you will often find him holding forth at an outdoor table with friends at his son-in-law’s Cypress & Grove Brewing Company, his version of Rick’s American Cafe.
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