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.

THREE ACROSS

THREE ACROSS: The Great Transatlantic Air Race of 1927, by Norman H. Finkelstein (Calkins Creek/Boyd's Mills 2008).
In the spring of 1927, three teams are gathered with their aircraft to attempt to first non-stop air crossing of the Atlantic Ocean between New York and Paris: the Columbia, owned by millionaire Charles Levine; the America, whose team is led by the famous Arctic explorer Richard Byrd; and, of course, the Spirit of St. Louis team led by the then little-known Charles Lindbergh.

Weaving the narrative among participants on all three teams, Finkelstein engages the reader in the challenges and tribulations of the dangerous venture. Although the outcome is never in doubt, THREE ACROSS provides a gripping and suspenseful account of the epic quest, illuminating, in turn, each of perseverance, heartbreak, competitive zeal, and triumph.