Book Description

Success four flights Thursday...In December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright sent a telegram to their father. Its simple message told of the brothers' historic flights at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. For the very first time, a person flew in a heavier-than-air machine. In the years that followed, the Wright brothers' fame grew as they shared their new invention with the world. Readers will discover the Wright brothers' lives by reading and seeing Orville and Wilbur's own letters, notebooks, and diaries. Kids will hear the brothers' story as if they were really there!
... Read more

Reviews (1)

Amelia Earhart-Young Aviator
Amelia Earhart was a very courageous young pilot, and she helped inspire young women to fly. In the book, Amelia Earhart: Young Aviator, by Beatrice Gormley, in the Childhood of Famous Americans series, the author describes Amelia Earhart as extraordinarily brave. This book tells almost everything a person would want to know about Amelia Earhart.

Amelia flew her plane until she wanted to retire. Before she retired, though, she wanted to make one last record-breaking flight. She planned to fly around the entire world, making stops only to refuel her plane. Near one of the islands she was supposed to land at, she mysteriously disappeared into the fog. No one knows what happened to her. We don't even know where she lies. We just know of her great achievements. ... Read more

Book Description

Here is the fascinating story of the first women to fly U.S. military aircraft—the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II. Although these pioneers were never allowed to fly in combat, they did fly in many essential wartime missions—some that the men didn’t even want to take on.

Through firsthand accounts, these women share their experiences as they test-fly newly repaired aircraft, drag banners behind their planes so male trainees can practice shooting moving targets (!), and ferry all kinds of aircraft from factories to military bases. Their courage, determination, and lively camaraderie make every page inspiring and surprising.

Yankee Doodle Gals will give today’s young people a new look at World War II and show them just how dramatically society has changed since then.

Book Description

Imaginations will soar!

From the fastest--and noisiest--passenger plane in the world, to downright strange aircraft, here is a spectacular look at a subject of endless fascination to children. Marvel at one of the first planes to blast into space! Learn about a plane that can land on water. And take a close look at the fastest of all jet planes, the Blackbird. Striking photographs are supported by lively and informative text that gives children a fuller understanding of these amazing machines. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great photos; interesting text
My 2-1/2 year old son loves to "read" this book, and I enjoy reading it to him.

The text is definitely written to an older child (I would say that a child would have to be in at least second grade before reading it on his or her own). Fortunately, there are enough snippets of information that an adult can tailor the words to fit the child as she or he reads aloud.

The photos, though, are what make this book so attractive. Each type of aircraft (to include experimental aircraft, Chinook helicopters, and future space-shuttle-like craft)has a two-page spread of photos in this oversized book. Most types feature at least three photos: one from the side, one from directly in front (the SR-71 Blackbird and the jumbo jet are particularly striking!) and one from the rear. Every type of aircraft has a photo taken while flying.

My young son is learning that jet planes don't have propellers and that rocket engines look different from jet engines. Of course, at first, he was more interested in the striking colors of the aircraft chosen for the photos, but this book allows him to grow. He has a while yet before he learns "it all", unlike some of the other airplane books for young children.

An enthusiastic thumbs up!

Big Book of Airplanes
This book is designed for children, but will appeal to anyone with an interest in aviation. The photos are clean and show the planes, helicopters and spacecraft well. The information provided for each aircraft is easy for children to read and understand. ... Read more

Book Description

From the excitement of arrival to the wonder of taking off -- a picture book that captures in joyous and powerful images all the magic of an airport.

Reviews (7)

Excellent for toddlers
My daughter, now 23 months, has loved this book since she was 14 months old. This book has made her even more fascinated with airplanes. When she sees an airplane she always points it out and asks to go on an airplane. She asks for us to read this book daily (my husband and I have it memorized). The illustrations are wonderfully bright in color. The text is simple but written well for young children to understand the pictures. This is one book I don't mind reading everyday!

Fun, fun, fun...
I have a two year old son, and he loves this book. The pictures are great, the descriptions are easy for him to understand, and are short enough to hold his attention. All of Byron Barton's books are great, but this one is his fave rave!!!!!!!!!

A must have for airport and airplane fans
This time around Barton tackles a day in the life of a passenger plane traveler. We start out with passengers arriving at the airport and go through all the various activities that take place through take off. What happens to the luggage, getting the plane ready for take off, etc. are covered. A cross-section of a jet plane shows the various parts including toilet (which children think is hilarious) and also shows staff working to clean the plane before the passengers board.

This would be a great book to read to a child who is preparing to travel by airplane. It would be great preparation to understand all that goes into preparing the plane, what is happening as the people are waiting to board, etc. It would also be a great book to take on the flight as entertainment, especially since it is a thin paperback and lightweight.

Lots of people are in the airport and are of all ages and races.

Barton also has a board book about planes which depicts different kinds of airplanes, titled "Planes". "Airport" focuses just on jet passenger airplanes and the airport itself. If you enjoy this book I recommend Barton's other books as well.

My baby loves this book, he must love the illustrations. My four year old loves the book for the content. We are frequent airplane travelers and we have made air travel an adventure, always discussing all that goes on and intentionally making it a real fun experience. It has been successful so far because we don't experience air travel stress with either of our children. Both look at a trip to the airport as an adventure in and of itself. This book gives us more opportunities to discuss flying when we are at home, in between trips.

This is the only children's book I have ever seen that discusses airports and what goes on there.

Great, a must have!

a gentle introduction to the airport for young children
This book is a good introduction to the sequence of events a child can expect to see when they take an airplane flight. The storyline, such as it is, unobtrusively follows a young boy and his family through the process -- arriving at the airport in a bus, standing in the ticket line, sitting in the waiting area, boarding the plane and finding your seat, and getting buckled in. There are also picture showing the crew preparing the airplane, the control tower okaying the plane for takeoff, the pilot and crew in the cockpit, and the jet taking off. There is a very nice cross-section showing the jet's fuselage, cargo hold, etc. Each picture is a brightly colored two-page spread, and my two-year old enjoys this book.

My quibbles are small. It would have been nice to see some more children in the pictures; and in one scene we see the little boy buckling up in a window seat on the lefthand side of the plane, but on takeoff we see him look ing out a window on the righthand side. A small enough mistake, but what if a child notices this and begins to worry that airplanes do not obey the laws of physics or logic? Will you be prepared to advance explanations that will not confuse?

Seriously, it's a nice book that should inform small children, and even help them when they first experience an airport.

My son's favorite book
My 2 1/2 year old son loved this book so much when we checked it out at the library, that I had to buy him his own copy. The text is simple and easy for him to understand and the pictures are bright and simple, yet complete and accurate in their representation of a real airport experience. He has fun going through the book over and over again looking for new things, asking me what they are: the security checkpoint, the fuel truck, the jetbridge, the overhead luggage bins, the rolling stairs, the mechanics checking the airplane's engines. He has logged several hours of airtime traveling with our family, but is still fascinated with the airport every time he picks up this book. ... Read more

Book Description

New Look! Relaunched with new jackets and 8 pages of new text!

Here is a spectacular and informative guide to the fascinating world of aircraft. Superb color photographs offer a unique "eyewitness" exploration of the historyof flight, as well as provide a close-up view of the many different kinds of aircraft in use today, from helicopters to hot-air balloons.See a Victorian steam-powered airplane, a World War I biplane, a jetliner in cross section, what the first pilots wore, how wings provide lift, and what's inside a "black box."Learn how a jet engine works, why early wings needed "doping", how to keep an airplane flying straight and level, and why modern airliners need pressurized cabins.Discover how wooden planes are constructed, what it was like to fly a biplane, how a plane lands and takes off, how a glider works, which plane could be carried on a car, how a helicopter flies, and much, much more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Terrific pictures, concise mini history of aviation.
This book covers aviation from it's earliest beginnings. There are many books on this subject, but this one stands out.

The book is amazingly concise, and yet it covers all of the important developments in aviation. My experience as a lifelong aviation enthusiast and private pilot makes me a good judge of this material. This book is intended for kids, but it has something even and old "fly boy" like me can enjoy.

The pictures in this book are striking in detail. Along with many other fantastic pictures, this book has the finest picture of a Bleriot XI that I have ever seen. The detail is unparalleled.

This is a book intended for children, but anyone would learn a great deal from it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

this is a great book!
I've been looking for a book like this for my niece who has gotten bitten by the "disaster" bug ever since the movie "Titanic" came out. This is an excellent book for older children and young teens. The text really makes the whole Hindenburg tragedy come vividly to life. And the pictures are just "Wow!". I think Ken Marschall has done the illustrations for some other notable large-illustration books including ones on the Titanic, and he outdoes himself again on this book. The detail is superb. I'm highly recommending this book to my friends who are looking for Christmas gifts for their kids. I'm even going to buy a copy for my mom! :-) Books like this don't come any better. ... Read more

Book Description

How do planes stay up in the air? What are all those knobs, gizmos and gauges in the cockpit? How do you fly a plane?

A pilot answers these and other questions in this lively memoir written to his grandson after their flight together in his home-built biplane. Bright watercolor sketches and playful photographs capture the fun and excitement of flying in an open-cockpit biplane above the green fields of Wisconsin. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A delightful picturebook about how planes stay up in the air
Author and illustrator Julie Grist's Flying: Just Plane Fun is a delightful picture book about how planes stay up in the air, the basics of flying, and what it's like to be a pilot or co-pilot. An adventurous read which is most especially recommended for young people with a budding interest in aircraft, aviation, and the mechanics and physics thereof, Flying: Just Plane Fun is an original and enthusiastically recommended addition for family, school, and community library collections.

i loved this book
This is a great book. Wheather you are intrested in flying or not you will love it. It takes you through an amazing adventure with a boy and his grandfather. It is great fun. you can read it over and over again and never get sick of it. It is very educational for both the parent and the child. The pictures and photographs are beautiful. If you have a child, boy or girl you should buy this book.

This book is great!!
I loved reading this book. It was very intresting and educational. It took me through an amazing adventure. The pictures and photography are really amazing and beautiful. I highly recommend reading buying this book. It will entertain you whatever the age. Whether you are intrested in flying or not you will injoy this book!!!!

This is a great book
I loved reading this book. It has great pictures and photography. It was also very well written. I learned a great deal about flying and was taken through an adventure with teh boy and his grandfather. This book is both enjoyable and educational. I highly reccomend buying this book!!!

John, age 11
This book is a masterpiece! The pictures are great and the writing is interesting and fun to read. Reading it got me interested in flying. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Fantastic!
My whole family loves these books, and Amelia Earhart is my daughter's current favorite. We own about seven of the books in this series, and each one is as good as the next. We are planning to collect the whole series. They are a second or third grade reading level but the information is presented clearly enough that younger kids can grasp the essentials. At the same time, there is enough substance that older kids have plenty to think about. Adults can learn something too! I recommend this book, and the whole series, very highly.

Best Kids' Book About Amelia On The Market!
This easy to read biography is the best on the market aboutAmelia Earhart! Adler's series is outstanding and this is one of hisbest!From learning about her plucky attitude as a little girl (building a roller coaster in her backyard and pelting boys with mud balls!) to her mysterious disappearance, young readers will be captivated by Amelia Earhart! END ... Read more

Book Description

Children explore the many ways we use airplanes, from seaplanes to crop dusters to planes that write messages in the sky. This very simple picture book about transportation ‘will delight the youngest, and have enough meat for older preschoolers and beginning readers.’ —K.

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Reviews (7)

Great introduction for little travelers
When we took our 1-year-old across the country via air, we wanted to prepare him for the experience of riding in an airplane. I sought out a book to show him pictures and came across this simple yet substantial book.

Before we took our trip, I was able to show him the pictures of planes similar to what we'd be flying in. When we were waiting on the plane, he was able to "read" his Plane book and see pictures of all the activity that was happening just outside his window. As we flew, the book entertained him with its colorful illustrations and many details.

This is definitely a favorite to my toddler, who now at almost two adores planes and has flown 6 times in the last 3 months. It has been taken across the country and back and has stood up well, with only a few indications that it is a well-loved book.

I've seen no other book like this, and highly recommend it to anyone preparing their child for travel.

Barton's simple approach is superb
My son is an airplane and boat fanatic(as is his Father). Solution? Byron Barton books! These little gems offer a few pages of pictures (very simple illustrations using primary colors)describing the different tasks an airplane, boat, train, etc. do everyday. I prefer the chunky board book format, which is virtually impossible for toddlers to completely destroy. Check out Barton's books today.

Soaring through the skies with Byron Barton
Byron Barton's "Planes" is a fun and educational book for beginning readers. In it the author/illustrator depicts a jet plane, seaplane, crop duster, helicopter, and other aviation phenomena. A sample of the easy-to-read text: "This is a jet plane with people inside."

The illustrations are basically simplified line drawings enhanced with bright, solid colors. Barton brings a distinctive stylistic flair to this approach. A nice touch is that Barton depicts people of various colors and ethnic appearances. Overall, a good choice for small children.

Couldn't be better
My baby loves this - he's 21 months - be brings it to me all the time to read. Nice illustrations.

simplicy is wonderful
We have the board book version and thank goodness! This book is read many times and is holding up well. Any baby or younger child who likes airplanes will love this book. It would also be helpful to read to children who are getting ready to take an airplane flight.

Cartoonish and simple drawings with thick black outlines and pretty bold colors. Text is very simple "this is a jet plane with people inside". Very simple wording yet NOT annoying. Quick to read through and then my son asks for it over and over and honestly, I don't mind the repetition for this book (unlike some other books we own....) At 3 years old he now has it memorized and sits and "reads" it to himself over and over. My baby also likes this book and carries it all over the house and "reads" it to himself with babbling baby talk.

I can't wait to buy more of this author's books and wish they were all available in board book format as this one gets a lot of use in our home.

I have not seen other books about planes in board book format that are appropriate for baby through the preschool ages, making this is a unique book. ... Read more

Book Description

Join our wacky animal crew for the flight of a lifetime! From the airport terminal to the flight deck, the zippy text and zappy art take children through how a plane flies, safety rules, in-flight entertainment and air traffic control. This action-packed picture book will delight all children who love things that go! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Happy flying!
Who says flying in a plane (or watching them) has to be scary? This simple, colorful book makes it exciting for even the very littlest. Great to read-aloud and even better for reading before (or during) an airplane ride. (...)

A favorite for boys!
My 18-month old nephew reads this book over and over and over. He loves it! This book will be a big hit for any child who has been to the airport or any child whose interests are trucks, boats or balls. ... Read more

Book Description

Readers will find much to admire in this handsomely illustrated introduction to twenty-eight types of jets. Learn how a jet engine works, fly aboard a Nighthawk Stealth Fighter, and find out more about jets like the Concord, the U-2 spy plane, the Goblin, and the Vertijet.

Illustrated entirely on computer, the book is sure to appeal to young children learning the alphabet, older readers discovering the world of jets, or adult aviation aficionados. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

suitable for a wide range of ages
I bought this book for my airplane-aficionado son when he was far too young to appreciate all of the advanced details about the jets. No problem - it's a great book to go through, looking at the pictures, and reading just what each letter stands for, starting with "A is for Aerocomet". It was the best airplane book we've found for little kids. Now that he's five, I'm reading the whole thing, every word. It stands up better than most to repeated rereadings.

The Jet Alphabet Book
The Jet Alphabet Book is really good because it has my favorite jet is in it; the SR-71 Blackbird. I really like that kind of jet because it can go 3 times the speed of sound and flies so high and so fast the pilot needs to wear a spacesuit and I recomend this book to children ages 4+.

Jet Alphabet Book
My 2 year old son loves this book. He requests it and has "read" it over and over. He can pick out and name specific jets by their shape and color. Illustrations are realistic. Not only does this book show both capital and lower case letters, it also shows an example of jets that begin with each letter. Information about current and past jets, some history, and a little about how they work. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Tale of Two Inventors
Read about the life of those amazing inventors, Wilbur and Oriville Wright, as they learn explore, and create a flying machine! ... Read more

Book Description

Growing up in rural Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright were fascinated by all kinds of vehicles -- a toy helicopter, bicycles, and the first motorized cars -- but what they dreamed of was flight. They were convinced they could build a machine that a man could pilot-and they did. Read about their amazing story of trial, error, and success. ... Read more

Book Description

Besse Coleman was born in rural Texas in 1892. She loved school, especially learning about numbers, and she was a good reader, too. Yet when it was time to pick cotton she had to work in the fields instead of going to school. Nevertheless, she was determined to be somebody when she grew up.

In her early twenties, Bessie moved to Chicago. Perhaps there she could "find a bigger life." In the city, Bessie heard many tales of World War I from returned veterans. She also heard there were woman airplane pilots in France. From then on, she was determined to become a pilot. But she soon found out that no one would teach a woman -- especially a woman with dark skin -- how to fly. To study in France was her only chance, and by working hard and saving her money, she managed at last to get there. Bessie Coleman became the first African-American to earn a pilot's license. She was somebody.

The inspiring story of her difficult early years, her success as a stunt pilot putting on daring air shows in many states, and her dedication to telling young African-Americans wherever she went, "You can be somebody. You can fly high just like me," is as moving and important today as it was then. Simply told with evocative full-color illustrations, this is a special book for today's young people. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Wind beneath her wings
A little light in the loafers is this story of Bessie Coleman. Though a worthy subject and a fascinating tale, this particular biography of the great Bessie C. is an awkwardly formal affair. Containing no source notes aside from a brief authorial thank you at the start of the book, most of the facts surrounding the life and times of Bessie Coleman are credited to Marion Coleman, Bessie's niece. Reading through this tale, I could only conclude that it was a pity that such a dry product could come from this powerful woman's life.

Bessie Coleman was a sharecropper's daughter in Waxahachie, Texas. Having grown up poor, Ms. Coleman moved to Chicago, Illinois to make a name for herself. After years of hard work, Bessie determined that the only job she wanted was to become an aviatrix. Scrimping and saving allowed Bessie to travel to France, where she was able to earn her pilot's license. Throughout the years Bessie would wow American audiences everywhere with her tricks and derring-do. In the end, Bessie died in a plane crash and was buried in Chicago once more. Her life allowed her to become the first African-American to earn a pilot's license. Not the first black woman but the first black person ever! Fairly impressive stuff.

There's a kind of disconnect between the words in this book and the images on its pages. Both the words and the illustrations are rather stiff and formal. Each illustration is contained neatly within its own little space and every narrative sequence is typed in nice little sections. It's funny that I felt the book to be so blah. There's no one moment in the story where I could say to myself, "Now THAT is why I find this telling so dull!". For the most part the story is factual (to the best of my knowledge), the only exception possibly being the moment when the text says the following about Bessie's license:

"It was the very best license to have:
With it, Bessie could fly anywhere in the world.
Nobody could say, 'You're a Negro woman, you can't fly.'"

Well.... actually they probably could. That's a bit of a problem with this book. Racism is just sorta understood to have existed in some form. But it's never confronted directly. Most of the pictures in this book are of (sorry but it's true) smiling happy black people. No white person is ever singled out as racist or contributing to the system of racism. Bessie herself must have encountered several instances of it within her lifetime, but they are never mentioned. The fact that Bessie has to learn to fly in France is said matter of factly. Yet the comparative European openness towards African Americans is never mentioned. All in all, a kid's going to need a lot more explanation about WHY Bessie had problems during her life since this book's not about to clear up such questions. It's a worthy effort, but it falls well short of the mark.

Fly High! The Story of Bessie Coleman
Imagine walking four miles to school and four miles home from school. That's what Bessie Coleman did a hundred years ago. She wanted to be somebody-like Harriet Tubman and Bookier T. Washington. She knew that with schooling she could be. She worked hard, picking cotton, walking miles to collect laundry, and learning her numbers. When she was twenty-three, she moved to Chicago. There she became a manicurist. She read the newspaper, and listened when customers told tales about French lady pilots in World War I. She wanted to be a lady pilot. She boldly went to Publisher Robert Abbot who told her to earn some money and learn French. He would help her find a flying school. In 1920, she went to France,learned to fly, and became the first African American to fly. When she became a stunt pilot she spread her message, "You can be somebody. You can fly high, just like me." This colorful, beautiful, simply written book shows how Bessie Coleman was an inspiration. Her determination and hard work made her dreams come true! Read and find out the sad ending to this courageous woman's story! ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Simple & lucid, yet detailed -- absolutely excellent
This book is written with precision and detail. Yet, since it is aimed at young readers, it is clear and easy to read. The author explains in simple, easily understood language, the seminal inventions of the Wright Brothers. It is an excellent book for any adult who wants to truly understand how the Wright Brothers invented the airplane. I would reccommend it to any person over the age of 12.

Excellent title, recommended
This biography on the Wright Brothers gets a big plus with the pictures it contains, many of which, thanks to the Wrights' interest in photography, were taken by the brothers themselves. The centerpiece of all the photos, of course, is the famous lift-off of the world's first manned, controlled, sustained, successful powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft on December 17, 1903.

The accompanying text is clear and interspersed with generous quotes from journals and letters, written by the brothers, acquaintances, and family. Relating in excellent detail the Wrights' lives from childhood to the height of their success in 1909 (as well as giving a basic account of airplane history up to 1903), Freedman goes over the Wrights' later years in just one chapter, which is its biggest drawback. Still, considering the focus of the book, this brief overview is understandable. Bonus features include information on the Wrights' use of photography during their work, descriptions of places connected to the brothers and flight, and a list of books for further reading.

The material used by Freedman is heavily based on the three most recent standards of Wright biography: Tom D. Crouch's "The bishop's boys: a life of Wilbur and Orville Wright" (1989), Fred Howard's "Wilbur and Orville: a biography of the Wright Brothers" (1987), and Peter L. Jakab's "Visions of a flying machine: the Wright Brothers and the process of invention" (1990).

With its readability and accuracy, this book would be an excellent addition to public and school libraries, and despite being classified as juvenile literature, adults could also enjoy this biography of the Wright Brothers. A Newbery Honor book.

The Wright Brothers
Freedman's interesting narrative of the Wright brothers portrays them as proper gentlemen who wore suits with bowties even while repairing bicycles in their shop, mechanical geniuses despite being high school dropouts, and totally dedicated to their dream of creating an aeroplane. The photographs in this book were taken by Wilbur and Orville Wright themselves. In addition to being aviators, they had a fascination with photography and converted a backyard shed for processing film. They knew that documenting their progress would be important for future generations.

In this fast-paced book, Freedman makes the long ago brothers seem real. He describes their quirky behaviors and intersperses excerpts from journals and letters written by the Wrights. Freedman demonstrates their tireless perseverance by detailing how trial runs failed again and again. The Wright brothers are truly heroes, worthy subjects for one of Freedman's books. Any student interested in mechanics, inventors, or aviation would enjoy this book.

Interesting
How They Invented the Airplane is probably the best Wright Brothers biography yet. It's written by my favorite author of the genre, Russell Freedman. (Lincoln: A Photobiography)

The only thing that made the book a little less enjoyable was the lack of information about the childhood of Orville and Wilbur. Also, I found myself asking questions about The Wright's parents and and siblings, who were weakly potrayed in the book Every other bit of information was intact, and the affect was this great book.

The Wright Brothers is probably the best book ever written
Wilbur Wright, the brother with visions, invented the airplane along with Orville Wright, the brother who loved to tinker. Wilbur once said, " My brother Orville and myself lived together, played together and, in fact thought together." Wilbur and Orville persevered in their struggle against Mother Nature, the public opinion, and failed flights and experiments to fulfill their dream of making a flying machine.
This biography tells the story of the lives of the Wright brothers, from the time they were little boys tinkering with toys, to when they finally sold their marvelous invention to the United States government. This book shows how the airplane started out as a glider, then evolved into a plane that stayed in the air for 5 seconds, and finally into a plane that stayed in the air for an hour and 13 minutes. It also explains how getting the government to buy their plane was a difficult task because it had already spent $70,000 on another person who tried to invent the airplane. Luckily, the government said yes after the Wright brothers had built a better plane. This book also contains miraculous pictures of Wilbur and Orville's flights and failures.
I recommend this book to anybody who enjoys biographies or who wants to sit back and relax with a good book. This book is an all around good read but what especially sticks out is that it shows that if you put your mind to something you can always accomplish it, no matter how difficult the task. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Ever had an airplane sketch "trapped" inside you?
Draw 50 Airplanes has been around for a while. I'm glad that it is still in print. Wish it had been around when I was a kid, doodling airplanes. A bunch of my favorites are there: Sopwiths, P-40s, Spitfires, F-86 Sabres, P-38s. Hopefully, someday, there will be a revised edition that can capture some late arrivals to the first century of flight that today's kids really like- the Space Shuttle, the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-117 Nighthawk. There are dozens of "how to sketch", "how to draw" titles out there. This is not one of those books. This book skips the nuances of perspective and the agony of descriptive geometry. It is not about fine art... it is not about drafting... When you sign a note to a friend, did you ever want to be able to add a quick Spitfire with a flourish? One that someone else thinks looks like a Spitfire? Or how about a sketch of the Wright Flyer? This is THAT kind of a book. This is about the serious business of producing a happy characture of the airplane that dances in your head. It will egg you on until you pick up a pencil and make an airplane appear on the page. It will help you perfect that skill. A curved line here, a pair of straight lines there. One pencil stroke at a time. And it obviously wasn't written just for kids. This book can help just about anyone create some really neat airplane doodles. Who knows what comes from that... So many rich experiences in life depend on having some early successes, the hopeful satisfaction that causes you to press onward... J. Campbell Martin ... Read more

Book Description

Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman was always being told what she could and couldn't do.In an era when Jim Crow laws and segregation were a way of life, it was not easy to survive, but Bessie didn't let that stop her.Although she was only eleven when the Wright brothers took their first historic flight, she vowed to become the first African-American female pilot.Her sturdy faith and determination helped her overcome obstacles of poverty, racism, and gender discrimination. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Inspiring story
The story is an inspiring recollections of the life of Bessie Coleman. The author did a wonderful job describing Ms. Coleman using the fictionalized points of view of who knew her. This is an inspiring story of a young girl who would let nothing stand in the way of her dreams.

A story of true courage and triumph.
Meet Elizabeth Coleman--the first African American woman to fly a plane. Coleman's story is told in a series of "interviews" starting from her childhood right up to her death. Her family talks about her education, her determination, and her unfailing dream to be more than just a field hand. Reporters talk about her as a pilot, and friends and fans talk about her courage and determination. In a time when skin color was a huge dividing line, Coleman managed to rise above it all, literally, in a plane. Her story is fascinating, and the style Nikki Grimes uses is readable, unique, and fitting for the tale. E.B. Lewis's pictures capture various aspects of Coleman's life--including details that the words opposite the picture don't mention. There is a note at the beginning of the book, and a note at the end, explaining more about Bessie Coleman and her life in the early 1900s. There also is a bibliography provided. This book won the Coretta Scott King award for 2003.

Excellent, thought-provoking biography
This book is an unusual, thought-provoking means of telling the story of Bessie Coleman's life. Written in free verse, Bessie's story is told by the people who attend her funeral, her family, friends, and acquaintances. Each voice is intriguing, weaving a complex tapestry of this noteworthy woman's life. Teachers and dramatists take note--what a great book to use for reader's theatre or as a play. E.B. Lewis' illustrations are perfect for the book, setting the right tone for each voice, and his portraits of each speaker bring them alive, talking to us as though we were there at the memorial service. I'm giving this as a gift to several children I know! ... Read more