Amelia Earhart: Young Air Pioneer (by Jane Moore Howe)

The final three chapters include some scenes from her adult life, such as learning to fly and her first solo flight. Three of Earhart's major accomplishments are listed at book's end. The author concludes with the aviator's unsolved disappearance over the Pacific Ocean.

Long before girl power was a concept, Amelia Earhart rode a homemade roller coaster, rescued neighbors from an angry dog, took a wild sled ride, and explored the Kansas countryside. Originally published as Amelia Earhart: Kansas Girl, this newly edited version is the first in a the Young Patriots series. Author Jane Moore Howe extols the wholesome atmosphere of early 1900s life in Atchison, Kansas, where Earhart is an adventurous, lively girl eagerly looking beyond societal barriers, though she is portrayed as obedient (usually!) and empathetic.

Children may ask why Earhart and her sister lived with their grandparents from 1904 to 1910. The author explains that her father's work involves frequent travel, and Mama and Papa visit once at Christmas, but little else is mentioned. Also, poorly drawn pencil sketches undermine the engaging story and are sometimes carelessly inaccurate. But this is a superior account of the aviator's life.