Common Sense Note
Interesting incidents in Earhart's childhood are conveyed through competent writing, but the illustrations are drab. Her sense of adventure will attract kids' interest.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Sally Snyder
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 new collection called 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 portrayed as obedient (usually!) and empathetic.
Children may ask why Earhart and her sister, Pidge, 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: Children will notice that Amelia's dog, James Ferocious, described as black-haired, appears lightly colored in the illustrations, and drawings of Amelia on her "rolly car" fail to show guard rails and make it difficult to imagine the car caroming off the roof of a shed.
Amelia Earhart: Challenging the Skies is a superior account of the aviator's life.
From the Book:
"Papa says there are lots of ways of being a pioneer," Amelia argued. "He says someday there will be air pioneers."
"Well, you'll never be one," Ginger said. "A girl could never fly an aeroplane."
"Girls can do anything that boys can do. I'm sick and tired of being told I can't do this and I can't do that. And all because I'm a girl!"
Plot Summary:
The author expands and fictionalizes a series of episodes in Amelia Earhart's childhood, starting at age seven. The stories continue through Earhart's eighth-grade graduation and include building a roller coaster from the top of a shed to the ground, exploring a riverside cave where girls are not allowed to go, and coasting "belly whopper" on a sled down a steep, icy hill. The author notes in an afterword that she specifically hunted for incidents in Earhart's life that demonstrated courage..
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.
Related Books:
Books With Similar Themes
Amelia Earhart: Challenging the Skies by Susan Slote
Lost Star by Patricia Lauber
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