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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J 921 QUIMBY | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
On a clear morning in 1912, Harriet Quimby had a vision--she would become the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel. If she were to veer off course by even five miles, she could end up in the North Sea, never to be heard from again. But she took the risk, anyway.
Bestselling author Marissa Moss and award-winning artist C. F. Payne team up to tell this little-known historic story of a spirited woman who dared to take flight.
Author Notes
Marissa Moss began as an illustrator of children's books. She is the author and illustrator of the Amelia series. She has written and illustrated more than 20 children's books including Amelia's Notebook, which was named a 1997 American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists book. Her other books include Regina's Big Mistake and Knick Knack Paddywack.
My Notebook (with Help from Amelia) also won the 2000 Parent Council Outstanding Award Informational and Oh Boy, Amelia! won the 2001 Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award and the 2002 Children's Choice Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The creators of True Heart once again laud a historical heroine with gentle restraint. Here they give pilot Harriet Quimby just the right note of quiet confidence: "I hadn't grown up wishing to be a pilot, because there were no planes when I was a girl, but once I saw one, I knew where I belonged there, at the controls, with blue sky all around me." Harriet wins her license from a skeptical board ("No woman has ever received a license to fly," a licensing official says), works as a barnstormer, then conceives the idea of crossing the English Channel. Her pilot friend Gustav Hamel tries to dissuade her, offering to fly for her in disguise; Harriet refuses. She completes her mission, but the sinking of the Titanic on the same day overshadows news of her success. "But it didn't matter, because I knew I had done it," she says. Payne's spreads resemble period photographs stop-action shots of wood-framed airplanes taken from striking angles, a newsboy reading the headlines about the Titanic and Harriet looking wistfully across the Channel, her skirt billowing in the wind. Pair this with Julie Cummins's Tomboy of the Air (Children's Forecasts, July 2) for a complete picture of the first women pilots. Ages 6-9. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
The fictionalized account of Harriet Quimby's flight across the English Channel in 1912 is both intriguing and exciting. Payne's illustrations of the first American woman to earn a pilot's license are at their best when showing how small and fragile Quimby's plane was compared to the vast sky and ocean, but the first-person account would be considerably strengthened by source notes or a bibliography. From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 2-4. This handsome picture book for older readers offers a memorable introduction to Harriet Quimby, the first woman to receive an American pilot's license and the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel. Not a biography but a vivid presentation of events, the book begins with Quimby's resolve to learn to fly an airplane and quickly comes to focus on her courageous Channel crossing and her experiences along the way. Her friend Gustav becomes the voice of doubt, trying to dissuade her from flying the Channel, even offering to disguise himself as a woman and make the flight in her place. Children will take heart from Quimby's firm resolve, and by the time the plane is in the air, they'll be right along with her for the dramatic flight. Moss writes effectively in first person, putting readers in touch with Quimby's dreams and determination through direct, vivid language. The mixed media artwork combines paints and pastels in a series of beautiful scenes, from impressionistic seascapes and skyscapes to more realistic and occasionally even romantic portraits of Harriet Quimby in flight or gazing toward the skies. A memorable book portraying a strong woman. --Carolyn Phelan
School Library Journal Review
Newspaper reporter Harriet Quimby, the first American woman to receive her pilot's license, found great joy in the sky. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
As they did in True Heart (1999), Moss and Payne have produced a vivid story, with equally vibrant illustrations, inspired by a historical event. Harriet Quimby was the first woman to fly alone across the English Channel, a feat that went all but unnoticed because it took place on April 16, 1912-the day the Titanic sank. Quimby was already a newspaper reporter, and she became the first American woman to receive a pilot's license. Told in the first person, much of the description of her brief, cold, and daring flight across the Channel is taken from her own account of it for the New York Herald. Moss weaves a rich tapestry of description for Quimby's story, full of heightened but crystalline language describing the desire to fly, and the fulfillment of that desire. Payne's illustrations have wonderful heft and texture and just the right period feel. Details of the "aeroplane" and of the characters' gesture and dress are done with wit and grace. Aviator Gustav Hamel's lame-brained plot to impersonate Harriet is straightfowardly presented in the text but with no attempt to hide its foolish sexism. (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)
