Jack Knight's Brave Flight: How One Gutsy Pilot Saved the US Air Mail Service
By Jill Esbaum
Illustrators
Illustrated by Stacy Innerst
Edition
By Jill Esbaum
Hardcover edition
Publisher Astra House Publishing Imprint Calkins Creek ISBN9781684379811
Jack Knight's Brave Flight: How One Gutsy Pilot Saved the US Air Mail Service
19.31
Sold Out
SKU
9781684379811J
High-flying history is brought to life in this suspenseful story of an unknown and daring pilot named Jack Knight, who in 1921 flew his biplane straight into a blizzard over America’s heartland and saved the US Air Mail Service in the process.
When Jack Knight takes off in his biplane from North Platte, Nebraska, in 1921, hundreds of people crowd the airstrip. Is Jack transporting a famous passenger? Is he ferrying medicine for a sick child? Nope—Jack has six sacks of mail.
For the past few years, biplanes like Jack’s have been flying the mail only during daylight hours. Flying after dark is risky and crashes are too common, so lawmakers decide to cut funding for the US Air Mail Service. Outraged officials and pilots want to prove that flying the mail is best, so they concoct a plan—a coast-to-coast race.
But when a crash, exhaustion, and a snowstorm ground three of the planes, Jack Knight becomes the race’s only hope. All he has to do is fly all night long, leaning out of the plane to see, and navigate a blizzard over land he’s never covered with an empty fuel tank. Will Jack pull it off and save the Air Mail Service?
When Jack Knight takes off in his biplane from North Platte, Nebraska, in 1921, hundreds of people crowd the airstrip. Is Jack transporting a famous passenger? Is he ferrying medicine for a sick child? Nope—Jack has six sacks of mail.
For the past few years, biplanes like Jack’s have been flying the mail only during daylight hours. Flying after dark is risky and crashes are too common, so lawmakers decide to cut funding for the US Air Mail Service. Outraged officials and pilots want to prove that flying the mail is best, so they concoct a plan—a coast-to-coast race.
But when a crash, exhaustion, and a snowstorm ground three of the planes, Jack Knight becomes the race’s only hope. All he has to do is fly all night long, leaning out of the plane to see, and navigate a blizzard over land he’s never covered with an empty fuel tank. Will Jack pull it off and save the Air Mail Service?
Author’s note, with photographs. “Highlights in the History of the U.S. Mail.” Bibliography. Illustrator’s note. Full-color illustrations were done
in watercolor, ink, pencil, rubber stamps, and some digital elements.
|
PreK Standard MARC Records Cover Art |
Nonfiction Elementary Plus (Grades 3-5)
Nonfiction Elementary Plus
Nonfiction Elementary Plus (Grades 3-5)
For Grades 3-5
A thoughtfully curated collection of nonfiction picture books for older elementary readers. These titles explore a wide range of real-world topics through clear, approachable text and compelling visuals, supporting curiosity, comprehension, and independent learning. Ideal for research, classroom discussion, and personal discovery.
14 books per Year
$294.00 per Year
Interests
Nonfiction, Picture Books, Curriculum Support, Independent Reading
