Up in the Air: The Story of Bessie Coleman (Trailblazer Biographies)
Grade 5-8?Another biography of the first African American woman to fly an airplane, this one compares favorably with Lillian M. Fisher's Brave Bessie (Hendrick Long, 1995). Both titles will be useful for research and recreational reading; they cover essential facts about the woman's early life, education, and introduction to flying, and are written in a lively manner. Fisher's style is less scholarly and objective as evidenced in her frequent use of exclamation points, and Hart's bibliography is more impressive. Students unfamiliar with Coleman will probably be more attracted to Up in the Air because of its quality paper, larger print, and inviting chapter titles. Also, many of the same photo-reproductions appear in both books, but the pictures in Hart's title are markedly larger, clearer, and better positioned on the pages. But Brave Bessie should not be discounted as it includes information about the aviatrix's life in France as well as some interesting facts about World War I planes. Both books feature the same cover photo.?Phyllis Graves, Creekwood Middle School, Kingwood, TXCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.