LOST STAR: The Story of Amelia Earhart

by Patricia Lauber ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1988

The fifth book in the last two years to be published about the famed aviator, this is the most successful at capturing the spirit of her achievements. Starting with Earhart's take-off on her final flight, Lauber flashes back to her childhood and youth--tracing her impetuous race through life from her early tomboy behavior and willingness to meet challenges in spite of the opinions around her. During her adolescence, the Earhart family moved several times and her parents' marriage failed, largely because of her father's alcoholism. Lauber covers the other careers that Earhart sampled, her growing interest in aviation, her first adventures as a flyer, her pioneer trip as the first woman to cross the Atlantic in an airplane (she was a passenger), and her later achievements--which took place in only a nine-year span. The tragic final flight is described in detail, with discussion of the various theories concerning her fate. While Blythe Randolph's recent biography contains more information about Earhart, it doesn't capture ""AE"" herself as well as Lauber does here--nor do the other recent biographies. They give us the facts; Lauber re-creates the person. A fine biography of a woman who--as Lauber says in a final tribute--""lighted up the sky"" in her brief career, ""and then, like a comet, disappeared from sight.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1988

ISBN: 0590411594

Page Count: 96

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1988

Categories: CHILDREN'S