Amelia Earhart: The Legend of the Lost Aviator - Hardcover

Shelley Tanaka has written a number of award-winning books for children, including Mummies: The Newest, Coolest, and Creepiest from Around the World, which received two starred reviews. She lives in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. David Craig has illustrated a number of popular books for children. He lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

David Craig has illustrated a number of books. He lives in Canada.

*Starred Review* Amelia Earhart has been the subject of many youth biographies, but this one, a picture book for older children, is especially informative—and attractive. Earhart’s story begins when Amelia is 11 and a plane is pointed out to her at an Iowa fair. She is unimpressed then, but as a college student who volunteered as a nurse’s aide during the First World War, she saw planes aplenty and caught the flying bug. By the 1920s, Earhart was airborne and found fame in the air—as the first woman passenger on a transatlantic flight, then setting her own flying records. Tanaka writes with the sweep and excitement of an airplane climbing into the sky, while the format and visuals wonderfully enhance the text. In addition to a treasure trove of archival photographs, which capture Earhart’s appeal from her youth, there are a variety of handsomely rendered paintings, starting with the cover illustration that shows Earhart in her plane as crowds of male onlookers cheer. Several sidebars enlighten readers on everything from technical problems to fan mail for girls. Though Tanaka doesn’t turn this into a feminist tract, preferring to let Earhart’s accomplishments speak for themselves, she does point out that women’s options were limited, even as several women flyers appear in the book. Well sourced and well written, this is a fitting tribute to a high flyer. Grades 2-4. --Ilene Cooper