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A review by panda_incognito
Sprouting Wings: The True Story of James Herman Banning, the First African American Pilot to Fly Across the United States by Shari Becker, Louisa Jaggar
4.0
This picture book biography has wonderful illustrations and tells a fascinating true story that had previously been lost to time. I read this today while preparing books for a Black History Month display, and was extremely impressed with the storytelling style, the atmospheric illustrations, and the insight into the research process included in the backmatter.
Since my display is for the 0-5 age range, I decided not to include this book, since it includes a friend's sudden death in a plane crash and later involves this man's death in a plane crash as well. The latter is only mentioned in the author's note, but the friend's death is part of the unfolding story, with an illustration of the destroyed plane. I wanted to avoid anything too brutal for my display, given the intended age range, but this is wonderful for school-age kids, teens, and adults who are interested in Black history, aircraft, or little-known people who made a difference in the world.
Since my display is for the 0-5 age range, I decided not to include this book, since it includes a friend's sudden death in a plane crash and later involves this man's death in a plane crash as well. The latter is only mentioned in the author's note, but the friend's death is part of the unfolding story, with an illustration of the destroyed plane. I wanted to avoid anything too brutal for my display, given the intended age range, but this is wonderful for school-age kids, teens, and adults who are interested in Black history, aircraft, or little-known people who made a difference in the world.