What Parents Should Know
Historical figures become real people through lively
storytelling and vivid descriptions. The illustrations include
stunning aerial perspectives.
Common Sense Media Review
"Amelia and Eleanor were birds of a feather," writes author
Pam Muñoz Ryan: Both were confident, opinionated, and
daring. Clear language and a direct narrative recount the story
of this April 1933 flight, when the two women defied convention
and left a White House dinner party in their evening dresses,
heels, and fancy gloves to soar over Washington, D.C., in a
plane.
This imaginative account of their nighttime ride is based on a little-known slice of history detailed in an author's note. Most of the easygoing dialogue is taken from newspaper accounts, book transcripts, and diaries to ensure historical accuracy.
The pictures alone are worth the ride: Oversize full-page pencil drawings cast the two women as likeable, friendly heroines, and the spreads offer up-close vistas of night skies and cityscapes flanked by twinkling stars.
Boys and girls alike will become involved in the adventure as they learn a bit of history along the way. One enthusiastic fourth-grader exclaimed, "I never knew Eleanor Roosevelt was so cool!"
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
