

Soar, Elinor!
By:
Illustrator: François Roca
ISBN: 9780374371159
JLG Release: Dec 2010
Awards & Honors
2011 Amelia Bloomer List, Nonfiction, Young Readers
Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Booklist, Publishers Weekly*, School Library Journal
School Library Journal
Everyone has heard of Amelia Earhart, but she was not the only young woman fascinated by flight in the early 1900s. Elinor Smith began talking flying lessons in 1921 when she was only 10 years old. At 16, she was the youngest person in the U.S., man or woman, to earn a pilot’s license. The climax of this picture-book biography is when Smit
Everyone has heard of Amelia Earhart, but she was not the only young woman fascinated by flight in the early 1900s. Elinor Smith began talking flying lessons in 1921 when she was only 10 years old. At 16, she was the youngest person in the U.S., man or woman, to earn a pilot’s license. The climax of this picture-book biography is when Smith achieved acclaim as the first person to fly a plane under all four of New York City’s bridges. Unlike the stories of Amelia Earhart and Harriet Quimby, this book has a happy ending. Smith lived to a ripe old age, and, according to an endnote, much of the book is based on interviews the author had with her before she passed away in March 2010. Brown’s narration is fluent, engaging, and full of dialogue. The page-long endnote explains her research and sources. Realistic oil illustrations are similar in style to those in Muhammad Ali, Champion of the World (Random, 2007). Roca uses minimal background detail and skillfully arranges scenes to focus attention on the emotions and faces of the characters while still maintaining historical and geographical accuracy. This is an excellent introduction to a lesser-known but fascinating adventurer.—Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT
Junior Library Guild
- A fascinating look at a lesser-known female aviator.
- The details of Elinor Smith’s preparation make it clear that her gutsy feat required careful planning, precision, and quick decisions, while the historic flight is portrayed with immediacy.
- Gives readers a sense of the culture and excitement surrounding aviation
- A fascinating look at a lesser-known female aviator.
- The details of Elinor Smith’s preparation make it clear that her gutsy feat required careful planning, precision, and quick decisions, while the historic flight is portrayed with immediacy.
- Gives readers a sense of the culture and excitement surrounding aviation in the 1920s.
- François Roca uses varying perspectives in his vibrant illustrations to fully depict Elinor’s flight, giving not only Elinor’s view from the cockpit, but also the vantage point of onlookers from the Manhattan Bridge and from the deck of a ship in the East River.
- The back matter provides information on Elinor Smith’s subsequent aviation accomplishments and describes the author’s first-hand research.
Book Details
ISBN
9780374371159
First Release
December 2010
Genre
Dewey Classification
629.13092 B
Trim Size
9 1/2" x 11 1/4"
Page Count
40
Accelerated Reader
Level 4.9; Points: 0.5;
Scholastic Reading Counts
Level 3.7; Points: 2;
Lexile
N/AFormat
Print Book
Edition
-
Publisher
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Potentially Sensitive Areas
None
Topics
Elinor Smith, Women air pilots,