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

• 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.