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A PICTURE BOOK OF AMELIA EARHART by David A. Adler

A PICTURE BOOK OF AMELIA EARHART

by David A. Adler & illustrated by Jeff Fisher

Pub Date: March 15th, 1998
ISBN: 0-8234-1315-2
Publisher: Holiday House

Adler (A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson, 1994, etc.) draws even young onlookers into the life of Earhart, whose Kansas childhood included firing a .22 rifle at barn rats and fashioning a roller coaster from fence rails and roller skates. Her social work, medical research, and study of engine repair are outlined, along with her growing passion for airplanes and flying, which resulted in several initial crash landings. Historic flights and accomplishments characterize Earhart’s adulthood, told in a factual, yet anecdotal style sure to interest early readers. Earhart’s disappearance, the source of much speculation, is skillfully handled. A brief author’s note cites theories about that disappearance as well as the lack of evidence to support them. Fisher’s illustrations, though clumsy in depicting perspective (e.g., a plane in flight on the cover is curiously close to Earhart’s head), are pleasing in that they do not idealize the subject. This is a cogent tribute to an aviation pioneer. (Picture book/biography. 5-9)