SOAR, ELINOR!

SOAR, ELINOR!, by Tami Lewis Brown, ill. by Francois Roca (FSG 2010). Debut author and licensed pilot Tami Lewis Brown tells the story of Elinor Smith, who rode her first plane at the age six, in 1918, and fell in love with flying. A decade later, Elinor was the youngest licensed pilot in the country, and up for a challenge: to fly a plane underneath all four of New York's East River bridges. Could she navigate the treacherous wind currents and the shipping and do what no one had ever done before?

A fine story of inspiration and hope and accomplishing one's dreams, Brown's elegant prose and Roca's beautiful two-page spreads capture the thrill of flight and make this book soar.