Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee Hardcover - 2009

Excerpt

WHEN I WAS LITTLE, something special happened every Sunday. Other families went to baseball games or the movies, but not mine. Instead we would drive out to the airport. We weren't going on a trip or meeting someone from a flight. We went to watch the airplanes. For us, nothing could be as exciting as watching the planes take off. We loved how they bumped clumsily along the runway, only to suddenly leap up, break free from the ground, and soar away, far away, until the black speck of the plane disappeared. My brothers, sisters, and I would lick our only-on-Sunday lollipops and tip our heads back, letting the roar of the engines fill our ears. I loved how the vibrations echoed in my bones. Just being there, being part of it all, made me feel big and powerful.

I liked to search for my favorite pilot, Amelia Earhart. She had flown all the way across the ocean by herself, and I wanted to be just like her. Once I'm sure I saw her. When I waved, she saw me and waved back. It had to be her--I didn't know of any other women pilots back then. Just Amelia Earhart. And me. Well, I would be a pilot someday.

Media reviews

Starred Review, Booklist:
"There are a number of biographies of women pilots, and a few books about Women Airforce Pilots (WASP), including a novel for older readers, Sherri L. Smith's Flygirl (2009). This particularly well-crafted picture book for middle grades comes to the subject through Maggie Gee, a young girl with a dream....Based on interviews with Gee, this has a lovely, personal feel to it."

Review, Publishers Weekly:
"A triumphant story of determination."

Review, San Francisco Chronicle:
"The acrylic and colored-pencil art warmly emphasizes changing skies and layers of story, especially those about the lofty goals and indomitable grit that characterize Gee's life."

Review, Kirkus Reviews:
"An inspirational tale of an inspirational woman.

Review, School Library Journal:
"Rendered in acrylics and colored pencil, the colorful double-page illustrations are filled with detail and vibrantly depict the settings and events… This story should serve as inspiration for children that they can achieve whatever they put their minds to."