Did you know that a piece of cloth from the Wright Brothers’ Flyer has traveled to the moon, and Mars? 

With NASA photos and playful illustrations throughout, here is an incredible slice of hidden history and an introduction to the science of air and space for all ages. 

★ “A flight of fancy—and facts—sure to set aspiring scientists’ imaginations soaring.”—Kirkus, starred review

One day in 1903 the Wright brothers entered a department store in Ohio to buy a bolt of fabric. The plain muslin cloth was most often used to make underwear. As it happens, the Wright brothers were about to wrap the simple cloth around the ribs of a mechanical ‘wing’ and dramatically change the world. Sixty-six years later, in 1969, Neil Armstrongtook a big leap onto the moon. With him was a swatch of the exact fabric the bicycle mechanics had purchased in 1903. Fifty-two years after that, in 2021, a remote-controlled car-sized explorer landed on Mars. Attached to the underside of a cable was a tiny piece of very old cloth—cloth that had almost become underwear. Almost Underwear is the story of that incredible piece of fabric, and the historic ‘firsts’ it stitches together.  

Junior Library Guild Selection
Kirkus Best of Picture Books 2024
ALSC Notable Children’s Book
Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominee for Grades 3-5
Orange Blossom Nonfiction Award

★ “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.”—Booklist, starred review

★”A delight from takeoff to landing.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

About Jonathan Roth