FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Leslie Rounds

With only about one to three sentences per page, this small size biography, one of the series "Rookie Biographies," tells the story of the famed flyer's life. Amelia Earhart was born in 1897, at just the right time to participate in the pioneering days of airplane flight. Beginning with the question, "Did you ever dream of flying an airplane?" the simple text does an excellent job of capturing her determination and courageousness. Each double page spread includes one large black-and-white photograph, useful to convey additional information in such a low reading level book. Somewhat ambiguously, however, the photograph accompanying the last page of text, (describing Earhart's disappearance and apparent death while flying over the Pacific Ocean,) shows her riding through a ticker tape parade. This may lead some children to question whether or not Earhart returned from that flight. The book includes a photo glossary￯﾿ﾽwords with pictures of the items, and an index. A bibliography and a list of Internet resources would have been welcome additions. In spite of the mentioned flaws, this book would be a welcome addition to the growing collection of biographies aimed at beginning readers. 2002, Children's Press,

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