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A review by courtneys_shelves
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
3.0
This is the story of James Herman Banning, the first black pilot to fly across the United States. He did so with his mechanic, Thomas Cox Allen. While the story focuses on Banning, it does illustrate that the flight was a team effort, even though Banning and Allen do not get along.
The story itself is inspiring, especially Banning' sheer persistence in the face of setbacks. The book is illustrated with beautiful, muted, realistic pictures. The book is also sprinkled throughout with actual quotes from Banning and Allen that the authors found in their research. (I also loved the fact that Banning's parents took him twice a year to the black library that was over 80 miles from his home.)
However, the text is dense, and I personally found it a bit dry. I think this book would work best for older kids, rather than the K-2nd graders I am currently focusing on.
The story itself is inspiring, especially Banning' sheer persistence in the face of setbacks. The book is illustrated with beautiful, muted, realistic pictures. The book is also sprinkled throughout with actual quotes from Banning and Allen that the authors found in their research. (I also loved the fact that Banning's parents took him twice a year to the black library that was over 80 miles from his home.)
However, the text is dense, and I personally found it a bit dry. I think this book would work best for older kids, rather than the K-2nd graders I am currently focusing on.