Children's Book Author and Journalist Victoria Griffith Will Read from "The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont" on Saturday Morning, December 3, at the South End Library

The South End Writes Authors' Series will feature its first reading by a children's book author Saturday, December 3, at 11:00 AM. Victoria Griffith, a South End resident and financial journalist, will introduce her new book which just won the Fall 2011 Parents Choice Award.

"The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont" describes how Alberto, the son of a Brazilian coffee magnate who lived in Paris while his father was undergoing medical treatment, used the balloon-inspired precursor to airplanes, the "dirigible," to run errands to and from his apartment on the Champs-Elysees. He was the first aviator to ride it around the Eiffel Tower in 1901, two years before the Wright Brothers did.

After Saturday's reading, children will be invited to make paper airplanes and bat around balloons. Refreshments are available, too.

The South End Library is located at 685 Tremont Street, between Rutland Square and West Newton Street.