Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight

by Karyn Parsons, R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)

Overview

Based on Karyn Parson's critically acclaimed Sweet Blackberry video series comes the story of Bessie Coleman, the first African American pilot to fight for her right to fly.

Before Bessie Coleman blazed a high trail with her plane . . . Before she performed in death-defying flying shows that would earn her fame as "Queen Bess" . . . Before she traveled the country speaking out against discrimination, Bessie was a little girl with a big imagination that took her to the sky, through the clouds, and past the birds.


 
Knocking down barriers one by one, Bessie endured racism and grueling training to become the first black female pilot and an inspiration to Mae Jemison, Josephine Baker, and many more influential people of color for years to come.

Don’t miss the remarkable story of Garrett Morgan in Saving the Day: Garrett Morgan’s Life-Changing Invention of the Traffic Signal!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316457194
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	12/01/2020
Series:	A Sweet Blackberry Book
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	99,213
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.30(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Karyn Parsons is best known for her role as Will Smith's cousin Hilary Banks on NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. After leaving acting behind, Karyn has gone on to found and produce Sweet Blackberry, an award-winning series of children's animated films, to share stories about unsung Black heroes in history, featuring narration from stars such as Alfre Woodard, Queen Latifah, and Chris Rock. The videos have been screened on HBO and Netflix, and enjoyed by schools and libraries across the country. She is the author of Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight, How High the Moon, and Saving the Day. Karyn lives with her family in Providence, Rhode Island.

R. Gregory Christie is a Caldecott Honor Winner, a six-time recipient of a Coretta Scott King Award Honor, a two-time winner of the New York Times 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year (2000 and 2002), a winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for illustration, and a recipient of the NAACP's Image Award. When he's not illustrating books, he operates GAS-ART GIFTS, a children's bookstore with autographed copies in Decatur, Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

11/16/2020

Stemming from Parsons’s Sweet Blackberry series of animated films featuring Black heroes, this biography introduces Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn her pilot’s license, against daunting odds. A star student at her rural Texas school, Bessie is enthralled to learn about Harriet Quimby, the first American woman pilot, and is determined to follow in her path. She juggles multiple jobs to help finance a trip to France, where she becomes a pilot in 1921 before returning to the U.S. to perform daring stunts at flying shows while pursuing another mission: fighting racism. While the verses’ cadence and rhyme sometimes falter, and the tale neglects to mention the figure’s Native American descent, Christie’s stylized illustrations bring life to Coleman’s trailblazing achievements. Ages 4–8. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

A nice biography of a trailblazer who broke a glass ceiling in aviation for women, and for people of color.”

—School Library Journal

“[R. Gregory] Christie’s stylized illustrations bring life to Coleman’s trailblazing achievements.”

—Publishers Weekly

"[A] worthy introduction."—Booklist

Praise for Saving the Day:

* “The story of Morgan’s accomplishments is entertaining and informative. A fine contribution to African American creative nonfiction for young readers.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
 

From the Publisher

12/01/2020

PreS-Gr 3—This picture book biography provides a window into the life of aviator Bessie Coleman (1892–1926), who was the first African American pilot, and the first Native American woman pilot. The narrative begins with Coleman's early love for learning. When she was a young girl, Coleman and her family worked the cotton fields and her education was put on hold during the harvest time. Readers follow Coleman's journey of self-revelation. A teacher's story of the pilot Harriet Quimby inspired Coleman to pursue aviation. Coleman knew she would have to leave her small southern town for a place "where her spirit could soar." When her brother invited her to live with him in Chicago, she jumped at the opportunity. Coleman eventually chased her dream to France and became a pilot. Upon her return to the United States, the Chicago Defender reported Coleman as front-page news. There are a few biographies that highlight Coleman's challenges and amazing achievements, but this title uses verse. The repeated stanza, almost a song chorus, is a powerful message to pursue one's dreams. The text might feel more accessible to struggling readers because it is written in short, concise verse. A generous time line of women in flight and original photographs are an added bonus. VERDICT A nice biography of a trailblazer who broke a glass ceiling in aviation for women, and for people of color.—Erin Olsen, Hunter Coll. Elem. Sch., NY

School Library Journal

2020-09-29
A story in verse of trailblazer Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license.

After learning about Harriet Quimby, a White woman who became the first American woman to earn a pilot’s license, young Coleman began to think that flying could be for her. A few years later, after moving to Chicago, she learned from her brother that women in France were pilots during “the war” (that this was World War I is never communicated). Inspired, Coleman tried in vain to find a teacher in the United States; undaunted, she moved to France, where she finally learned to fly before returning to the United States to inspire the nation. Coleman is a fascinating subject, but missing biographical detail and undocumented conversations do not suit this effort for the nonfiction shelves. Though the backmatter includes information about women in flight as well as notes from the author and illustrator, there is not enough information presented about Coleman’s life to answer the questions readers will have after finishing this book. Parsons’ verse is, sadly, too often simplistic and strained: “One day, Bessie’s teacher / Told them of how / A woman had become a pilot! / A huge breakthrough! Wow!” Christie’s characteristically powerful illustrations cannot mitigate the text’s weaknesses (though his note does inform those who read it that Coleman grew up in Texas, another fact Parsons leaves unsaid).

Doesn’t take flight. (timeline, photographs) (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews