Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee
Grade 1–4—This biographical picture book, based on the life of a Chinese-American pilot, has a first-person narrative. Gee describes her love of airplanes as a small child and of sharing with her siblings her dreams of someday flying over places such as the Eiffel Tower and the pyramids. Several years later, when World War II started, she learned about the Women Airforce Service Pilots and knew that she wanted to join them. After attending flight school, she was one of the few chosen to train as a WASP. The work was "hard and tiring and wonderful, all at once" and Gee soon earned her wings. She flew several missions, some of which were fun (training exercises were "like playing tag in the air") and some of which were frightening. Rendered in acrylics and colored pencil, the colorful double-page illustrations are filled with detail and vibrantly depict the settings and events. An author's note provides more information along with photographs of Gee and her family members. This story should serve as inspiration for children that they can achieve whatever they put their minds to.—Donna Atmur, Los Angeles Public LibraryEND