AMELIA EARHART: THE LEGEND OF THE LOST AVIATOR by Shelley Tanaka

This week, my CYBILS reading has taken me from swords to pilots. While SWORDS and AMELIA EARHART: THE LEGEND OF THE LOST AVIATOR might not, at first, seem very similar, both books have a common thread. They're both really engaging because they are both about people brave enough to throw themselves wholeheartedly into their passions. In my mind, that always makes for interesting reading.

Amelia Earhart saw her first airplane in 1908 at the Iowa State Fair.  THE LOST LEGEND traces Earhart's life from childhood until she and her airplane vanished on a round-the-world flight in 1937. An epilogue explores possible outcomes of the Earhart mystery. Several themes, e.g. girls can do anything, follow your dreams, and don't be afraid to take risks, resonate throughout the book.

AMELIA EARHART is a really readable biography- simple enough for an average fourth or fifth grader, but also interesting enough to hold a middle schooler's attention. The body of the text is supplemented with occasional sidebar information on related topics, e.g. the history of flying, other women pilots, Earhart's fan mail. Visuals in AMELIA EARHART are also worth noting. The book contains a number of captioned photographs from Earhart's life. It includes an equal number of beautiful paintings by David Craig. 

A great book for a biography unit, or a unit on women pioneers (or actually any pioneers), or a kid who is interested in flying, or just because…