Bessie Coleman was the first black female to fly a plane. This is a great children's picture book about her. She had many struggles to deal with to do what she wanted to do which was to fly. As she was determined to fly, everyone doubted her. Someone then gave her the idea to go fly in France, and so she did. She was so proud to be a pilot. I liked this book and I think it can inspire children to go after their dreams no matter what obstacles they face. They they want it bad enough, they can get it. ( )

Being a black woman in the 1920's was not promising for Bessie Coleman. However, that did not discourage her from following her dreams. Nobody Owns the Sky is the story of how Bessie Coleman became the first licensed African American aviator. I really enjoyed this book, the pictures are bold and the concept is broken down to show that no matter the circumstance, anything is possible. ( )

This was a rhyming story about Bessie Coleman written by Charles Lindbergh's daughter. That's kind of an interesting mix. Anyway, the illustrations and the poetry are both pretty well done. It's an approachable text for younger readers though it is fairly long. ( )

This rhyming picture book is a kid friendly biography of Bessie Coleman. Though a black woman born in Texas, stuck picking cotton for living, she knew she wanted to fly. Bessie Coleman followed her dreams and became the first African American pilot. ( )

Quick - name a female aviator!

Yes, yes, Amelia Earhart. Now name another one. Can't do it, can you? Well, how about Bessie Coleman - first African-American, man or woman, to have a pilot's license, and first American of ANY race or gender to have an international pilot's license - and she did it two years before Amelia, too! (She had to go overseas to get that license, because flight schools in the US wouldn't take a black aviator, and black aviators in the US wouldn't train a woman.)

Aviators in general make great picture book heroes, doing something that was brand new and scary and didn't involve deliberate violence. And Bessie Coleman - wow! She ought to be better known!

So why only three stars? Because, honestly, I don't think this book offers a good treatment of her.

The artwork is so-so, but I could live with that. What I can't live with are the words. I have nothing against a rhyming book. However, this book has a very set jaunty rhythm with a rhyme scheme that runs A-A-A-A-A-A for every verse. The end result is that major issues such as racism, sexism, and Bessie Coleman's eventual *death* come out sounding like... like humor! The nicest thing I can say about it is that it's clunky:

Bessie's life was not long, but she flew far and wide
In Chicago she showed off a Richthofen Glide
Her air shows in Boston left crowds starry-eyed;
But in Jacksonville, Florida, everyone cried
Because Bessie's plane failed, and she fell, and she died
"Farewell to Brave Bessie", they sighed

It goes on like that for the whole book. And the little coda that takes her specific accomplishments and turns them into a general paean about flying like birds is... well, I'm not a great fan of it.

I'm going to try Talkin' 'bout Bessie instead. Maybe that'll give me what I was looking for here. ( )