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Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America
Born to Fly is the gripping story of the fearless women pilots who aimed for the skies—and beyond.
Just nine years after American women finally got the right to vote, a group of trailblazers soared to new heights in the 1929 Air Derby, the first women's air race across the U.S. Follow the incredible lives of legend Amelia Earhart, who has captivated generations; Marvel Crosson, who built a plane before she even learned how to fly; Louise Thaden, who shattered jaw-dropping altitude records; and Elinor Smith, who at age seventeen made headlines when she flew under the Brooklyn Bridge.
These awe-inspiring stories culminate in a suspenseful, nail-biting rate across the country that brings to life the glory and grit of the dangerous and thrilling early days of flying, expertly told by the master of nonfiction history for young readers, National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin.
Featuring illustrations by Bijou Karman.
Just nine years after American women finally got the right to vote, a group of trailblazers soared to new heights in the 1929 Air Derby, the first women's air race across the U.S. Follow the incredible lives of legend Amelia Earhart, who has captivated generations; Marvel Crosson, who built a plane before she even learned how to fly; Louise Thaden, who shattered jaw-dropping altitude records; and Elinor Smith, who at age seventeen made headlines when she flew under the Brooklyn Bridge.
These awe-inspiring stories culminate in a suspenseful, nail-biting rate across the country that brings to life the glory and grit of the dangerous and thrilling early days of flying, expertly told by the master of nonfiction history for young readers, National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin.
Featuring illustrations by Bijou Karman.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2019
52 people are currently reading
2017 people want to read
About the author
Steve Sheinkin
45 books696 followersFrom: http://stevesheinkin.com/about/
I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and my family lived in Mississippi and Colorado before moving back to New York and settling in the suburbs north of New York City. As a kid my favorite books were action stories and outdoor adventures: sea stories, searches for buried treasure, sharks eating people… that kind of thing. Probably my all-time favorite was a book called Mutiny on the Bounty, a novel based on the true story of a famous mutiny aboard a British ship in the late 1700s.
I went to Syracuse University and studied communications and international relations. The highlight of those years was a summer I spent in Central America, where I worked on a documentary on the streets of Nicaragua.
After college I moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for an environmental group called the National Audubon Society. Then, when my brother Ari graduated from college a few years later, we decided to move to Austin, Texas, and make movies together. We lived like paupers in a house with a hole in the floor where bugs crawled in. We wrote some screenplays, and in 1995 made our own feature film, a comedy called A More Perfect Union (filing pictured below), about four young guys who decide to secede from the Union and declare their rented house to be an independent nation. We were sure it was going to be a huge hit; actually we ended up deep in debt.
After that I moved to Brooklyn and decided to find some way to make a living as a writer. I wrote short stories, screenplays, and worked on a comic called The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey. In 2006, after literally hundreds of rejections, my first Rabbi Harvey graphic novel was finally published.
Meanwhile, I started working for an educational publishing company, just for the money. We’d hire people to write history textbooks, and they’d send in their writing, and it was my job to check facts and make little edits to clarify the text. Once in a while I was given the chance to write little pieces of textbooks, like one-page biographies or skills lessons. “Understanding Bar Graphs” was one of my early works. The editors noticed that my writing was pretty good. They started giving me less editing to do, and more writing. Gradually, I began writing chapters for textbooks, and that turned into my full-time job. All the while, I kept working on my own writing projects.
In 2008 I wrote my last textbook. I walked away, and shall never return. My first non-textbook history book was King George: What Was His Problem? – full of all the stories about the American Revolution that I was never allowed to put into textbooks. But looking back, I actually feel pretty lucky to have spent all those years writing textbooks. It forced me to write every day, which is great practice. And I collected hundreds of stories that I can’t wait to tell.
These days, I live with my wife, Rachel, and our two young kids in Saratoga Springs, New York. We’re right down the road from the Saratoga National Historical Park, the site of Benedict Arnold’s greatest – and last – victory in an American uniform. But that’s not why I moved here. Honestly.
I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and my family lived in Mississippi and Colorado before moving back to New York and settling in the suburbs north of New York City. As a kid my favorite books were action stories and outdoor adventures: sea stories, searches for buried treasure, sharks eating people… that kind of thing. Probably my all-time favorite was a book called Mutiny on the Bounty, a novel based on the true story of a famous mutiny aboard a British ship in the late 1700s.
I went to Syracuse University and studied communications and international relations. The highlight of those years was a summer I spent in Central America, where I worked on a documentary on the streets of Nicaragua.
After college I moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for an environmental group called the National Audubon Society. Then, when my brother Ari graduated from college a few years later, we decided to move to Austin, Texas, and make movies together. We lived like paupers in a house with a hole in the floor where bugs crawled in. We wrote some screenplays, and in 1995 made our own feature film, a comedy called A More Perfect Union (filing pictured below), about four young guys who decide to secede from the Union and declare their rented house to be an independent nation. We were sure it was going to be a huge hit; actually we ended up deep in debt.
After that I moved to Brooklyn and decided to find some way to make a living as a writer. I wrote short stories, screenplays, and worked on a comic called The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey. In 2006, after literally hundreds of rejections, my first Rabbi Harvey graphic novel was finally published.
Meanwhile, I started working for an educational publishing company, just for the money. We’d hire people to write history textbooks, and they’d send in their writing, and it was my job to check facts and make little edits to clarify the text. Once in a while I was given the chance to write little pieces of textbooks, like one-page biographies or skills lessons. “Understanding Bar Graphs” was one of my early works. The editors noticed that my writing was pretty good. They started giving me less editing to do, and more writing. Gradually, I began writing chapters for textbooks, and that turned into my full-time job. All the while, I kept working on my own writing projects.
In 2008 I wrote my last textbook. I walked away, and shall never return. My first non-textbook history book was King George: What Was His Problem? – full of all the stories about the American Revolution that I was never allowed to put into textbooks. But looking back, I actually feel pretty lucky to have spent all those years writing textbooks. It forced me to write every day, which is great practice. And I collected hundreds of stories that I can’t wait to tell.
These days, I live with my wife, Rachel, and our two young kids in Saratoga Springs, New York. We’re right down the road from the Saratoga National Historical Park, the site of Benedict Arnold’s greatest – and last – victory in an American uniform. But that’s not why I moved here. Honestly.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 169 reviews
September 15, 2019
Steve Sheinkin is a sure bet for me. Every book I have read by him is well-researched and written in engaging, informative prose. This book shattered my image of Amelia Earhart as the only pioneer in women's aviation. Sheinkin even addresses this phenomenon in the Epilogue to this book. Most certainly the mystery surrounding her disappearance plays a role. I would also contend that her husband and publisher, George Putnam, also played a significant role in her visibility to the public. There are many wonderful photos included in this book. The illustration style is appealing, but can not compete with the window we gain through photos. Highly recommended for 5th grade and up.
Many thanks to Macmillan Children's Roaring Book Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Many thanks to Macmillan Children's Roaring Book Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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March 7, 2022Steve Sheinkin is a sure bet for me. Every book I have read by him is well-researched and written in engaging, informative prose. This book shattered my image of Amelia Earhart as the only pioneer in women's aviation. Sheinkin even addresses this phenomenon in the Epilogue to this book. Most certainly the mystery surrounding her disappearance plays a role. I would also contend that her husband and publisher, George Putnam, also played a significant role in her visibility to the public. There are many wonderful photos included in this book. The illustration style is appealing, but can not compete with the window we gain through photos. Highly recommended for 5th grade and up.
*Reviewed by Darla from Red Bridge*
*Reviewed by Darla from Red Bridge*
May 31, 2020
I enjoyed this book, although it is the story of women written by a man. One part that sticks to my thoughts is the discrimination. The other is about a woman who had engine trouble and landed in a field. She hitchhiked into town and returned with a mechanic.
I recommend this book. I listened to it on audio.
I recommend this book. I listened to it on audio.
October 19, 2021
Steve Sheinkin has done it again!
I am so happy that he left his job as a textbook writer and embarked on this career, writing nonfiction history books for children of all ages. He fills his books with the most engaging, suspenseful, informative, and entertaining nuggets that you will not find in textbooks and I am very grateful.
I love that we learn about many of the female pioneers in aviation like Pancho Barnes, Louise Thaden, Elinor Smith, and Ruth Nichols. Of course, Mr. Sheinkin also devotes a considerable amount of time to Amelia Earhart, but in examining her relationships with her peers, he goes far beyond simply mentioning her accomplishments and untimely death.
As a former female aviator (navigator, not pilot), I really enjoyed learning more about this period of aviation discovery, adventure, and daring. It's a little sad that even seventy years later, I experienced a bit of the sexism that was rife in those times, but I recognize that it was due to their determination and willingness to stand up for their rights that I had the opportunities that I did. And I know that future generations of female aviators will work, fly, and compete on a more even playing field, especially due to books like this one.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Kim Mai Guest narrate the audiobook edition of this book and I have a feeling that I may choose to either read the print edition or listen to the book again someday. It's that good.
I am so happy that he left his job as a textbook writer and embarked on this career, writing nonfiction history books for children of all ages. He fills his books with the most engaging, suspenseful, informative, and entertaining nuggets that you will not find in textbooks and I am very grateful.
I love that we learn about many of the female pioneers in aviation like Pancho Barnes, Louise Thaden, Elinor Smith, and Ruth Nichols. Of course, Mr. Sheinkin also devotes a considerable amount of time to Amelia Earhart, but in examining her relationships with her peers, he goes far beyond simply mentioning her accomplishments and untimely death.
As a former female aviator (navigator, not pilot), I really enjoyed learning more about this period of aviation discovery, adventure, and daring. It's a little sad that even seventy years later, I experienced a bit of the sexism that was rife in those times, but I recognize that it was due to their determination and willingness to stand up for their rights that I had the opportunities that I did. And I know that future generations of female aviators will work, fly, and compete on a more even playing field, especially due to books like this one.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Kim Mai Guest narrate the audiobook edition of this book and I have a feeling that I may choose to either read the print edition or listen to the book again someday. It's that good.
November 9, 2019
Richie’s Picks: BORN TO FLY: THE FIRST WOMEN’S AIR RACE ACROSS AMERICA by Steve Sheinkin, Roaring Brook, September 2019, 288p., ISBN: 978-1-62672-130-2
“When a Southwest Airline’s plane’s engine exploded mid-flight this week, pilot Tammi Jo Shultz made an emergency landing. She is a former Navy pilot and one of the first women to fly an F/A-18 fighter jet.
Shultz is an anomaly among airline pilots — and not just because she was able to stay calm in such extreme circumstances.
As a female pilot, Shultz is part of a small group. Just 6.3% of commercial pilots and 6% of non-commercial pilots in the United States are women.”
— MarketWatch, “Female Pilots are a rarity at commercial airlines in the U.S.” (4/22/18)
“There were about nine thousand licensed pilots in the United States in 1928. Fewer than one hundred of them were women. Of these, twenty of the best entered the Women’s Air Derby”
“There you stood on the edge of your feather
Expecting to fly
— Neil Young (1967)
Do you have any idea who the first woman to be featured on a Wheaties box was? Hint: Read this book.
Steve Sheinkin has done it again! BORN TO FLY is a thrilling true story of pioneering women flyers in the 1920s. Of these brave and crazy women, Amelia Earhart is the name most readers will already recognize.
The story opens with glimpses of the childhoods of a half-dozen of these women, moving back and forth between early flying experiences and the record-breaking flights that led them to the starting line at Clover Field in Santa Monica, CA. The goal of these twenty elite female pilots in August, 1929 was to follow a nine-day route, including dozens of takeoffs and landings, to the finish line in Cleveland, OH.
“In their own way...these pilots were like flappers. They were rebels, having fun on their own terms. They were weaving through obstacles and chasing their dreams.”
Over those nine days, there were destroyed planes, maps blown out of the hands of pilots, bad storms, wrong turns and, occasionally, cows in the way. Yet “Fifteen of the twenty pilots who’d started the Women’s Air Derby made it to the finish line. This was the highest percentage of finishers in any cross-country air race to date.”
The author explains how air racing in the 1920s was a major spectator sport in the U.S. These cross-country races were akin to today’s Super Bowls.
“Aviation was new and incredibly dangerous, so when daring pilots set out to race unreliable planes over mountains and across deserts, it made for thrilling drama. These multi-day races featured fierce rivalries back-and-forth battles for the lead, violent storms, and mechanical failures in the air. There were always crashes in these races. In almost every race, at least one pilot was killed.
The first Women’s Air Derby would be no exception.”
Early on, readers need to pay attention in order to keep the pilots and their respective exploits straight. But I found that it was well worth the effort because the book’s strength is its unrelenting focus on the flying and the race rather than on tangential details of the pilots’ biographies.
I’ve read that this week’s Election Day results in Virginia may well lead to the long-stalled ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. BORN TO FLY is a notable women’s history book about gutsy women who opened up possibilities for others of their gender to challenge the status quo. It will fit nicely in a display with this quartet of related titles I also recommend:
AMELIA AND ELEANOR GO FOR A RIDE by Pam Munoz Ryan and Brian Selznick (1999)
TALKIN’ ABOUT BESSIE: THE STORY OF AVIATOR ELIZABETH COLEMAN by Nikki Grimes and Earl B. Lewis (2002)
THE WRIGHT SISTER: KATHERINE WRIGHT AND HER FAMOUS BROTHERS by Richard Maurer (2003)
AMELIA LOST: THE LIFE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF AMELIA EARHART by Candace Fleming (2011)
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
“When a Southwest Airline’s plane’s engine exploded mid-flight this week, pilot Tammi Jo Shultz made an emergency landing. She is a former Navy pilot and one of the first women to fly an F/A-18 fighter jet.
Shultz is an anomaly among airline pilots — and not just because she was able to stay calm in such extreme circumstances.
As a female pilot, Shultz is part of a small group. Just 6.3% of commercial pilots and 6% of non-commercial pilots in the United States are women.”
— MarketWatch, “Female Pilots are a rarity at commercial airlines in the U.S.” (4/22/18)
“There were about nine thousand licensed pilots in the United States in 1928. Fewer than one hundred of them were women. Of these, twenty of the best entered the Women’s Air Derby”
“There you stood on the edge of your feather
Expecting to fly
— Neil Young (1967)
Do you have any idea who the first woman to be featured on a Wheaties box was? Hint: Read this book.
Steve Sheinkin has done it again! BORN TO FLY is a thrilling true story of pioneering women flyers in the 1920s. Of these brave and crazy women, Amelia Earhart is the name most readers will already recognize.
The story opens with glimpses of the childhoods of a half-dozen of these women, moving back and forth between early flying experiences and the record-breaking flights that led them to the starting line at Clover Field in Santa Monica, CA. The goal of these twenty elite female pilots in August, 1929 was to follow a nine-day route, including dozens of takeoffs and landings, to the finish line in Cleveland, OH.
“In their own way...these pilots were like flappers. They were rebels, having fun on their own terms. They were weaving through obstacles and chasing their dreams.”
Over those nine days, there were destroyed planes, maps blown out of the hands of pilots, bad storms, wrong turns and, occasionally, cows in the way. Yet “Fifteen of the twenty pilots who’d started the Women’s Air Derby made it to the finish line. This was the highest percentage of finishers in any cross-country air race to date.”
The author explains how air racing in the 1920s was a major spectator sport in the U.S. These cross-country races were akin to today’s Super Bowls.
“Aviation was new and incredibly dangerous, so when daring pilots set out to race unreliable planes over mountains and across deserts, it made for thrilling drama. These multi-day races featured fierce rivalries back-and-forth battles for the lead, violent storms, and mechanical failures in the air. There were always crashes in these races. In almost every race, at least one pilot was killed.
The first Women’s Air Derby would be no exception.”
Early on, readers need to pay attention in order to keep the pilots and their respective exploits straight. But I found that it was well worth the effort because the book’s strength is its unrelenting focus on the flying and the race rather than on tangential details of the pilots’ biographies.
I’ve read that this week’s Election Day results in Virginia may well lead to the long-stalled ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. BORN TO FLY is a notable women’s history book about gutsy women who opened up possibilities for others of their gender to challenge the status quo. It will fit nicely in a display with this quartet of related titles I also recommend:
AMELIA AND ELEANOR GO FOR A RIDE by Pam Munoz Ryan and Brian Selznick (1999)
TALKIN’ ABOUT BESSIE: THE STORY OF AVIATOR ELIZABETH COLEMAN by Nikki Grimes and Earl B. Lewis (2002)
THE WRIGHT SISTER: KATHERINE WRIGHT AND HER FAMOUS BROTHERS by Richard Maurer (2003)
AMELIA LOST: THE LIFE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF AMELIA EARHART by Candace Fleming (2011)
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
October 24, 2022
Quick Summary: Educational resource
My Review: Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America by Steve Sheinkin presents a fresh take on familiar and unfamiliar women who played a role in aviation. Told using a narrative flair, Sheinkin does an admirable job of educating readers on the many women who had a dream to soar above the challenges and obstacles before them. These unique women blazed a trail that influenced the hearts and minds of others, both in the past and into the present.
My Final Say: I would have loved to see more diversity on the cover of this book. It could have served as a truer representation of what was happening in the aviation world. Many women broke barriers.
Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: YA to A
#libraryread #HRRB
My Review: Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America by Steve Sheinkin presents a fresh take on familiar and unfamiliar women who played a role in aviation. Told using a narrative flair, Sheinkin does an admirable job of educating readers on the many women who had a dream to soar above the challenges and obstacles before them. These unique women blazed a trail that influenced the hearts and minds of others, both in the past and into the present.
My Final Say: I would have loved to see more diversity on the cover of this book. It could have served as a truer representation of what was happening in the aviation world. Many women broke barriers.
Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: YA to A
#libraryread #HRRB
November 8, 2021
A great read about a frequently dismissed topic - we all recognize the name of Amelia Earhart, but it was a surprise to me to hear about how many other women pilots were of equal importance in the name of establishing equality for women.
The book covers introductions for about half a dozen women. I found the size of the roster (and the fact that they really all shared similar backgrounds, characteristics, and personality traits) made it difficult to keep the characters segregated in my mind. At the same time, the author does inject phrases later on in book to help you remember who everyone is ('oh, this is the woman who flew planes in Alaska' or 'this is the one who built the plane with her brother').
Once the race gets started, the story builds momentum by establishing mystery regarding certain events surrounding the race. Unfortunately, since this is based on a real story, the fact that the mystery is unsolved to this day means that we don't get a satisfying conclusion to that part of the tale. With that said, we do get gripping descriptions of the terrifying situations that the women found themselves in, and we get an appreciation for their bravery and determination, in the face of possible death. It's amazing how frequently they had to rely on their wits to save their own lives, but they continued in this profession because they felt in their hearts that they had to continue.
The only thing holding me back from giving this 5 stars is how generally repetitive the story is. It's no fault of the author if many of the characters and the situations they faced were so similar, or even that the source material is so dramatic that by the end of the book, I was tired of hearing about so many life-or-death emergency landings, crashes, and near-misses.
Overall, the book is inspiring and meaningful, and I'd recommend to just about anyone.
The book covers introductions for about half a dozen women. I found the size of the roster (and the fact that they really all shared similar backgrounds, characteristics, and personality traits) made it difficult to keep the characters segregated in my mind. At the same time, the author does inject phrases later on in book to help you remember who everyone is ('oh, this is the woman who flew planes in Alaska' or 'this is the one who built the plane with her brother').
Once the race gets started, the story builds momentum by establishing mystery regarding certain events surrounding the race. Unfortunately, since this is based on a real story, the fact that the mystery is unsolved to this day means that we don't get a satisfying conclusion to that part of the tale. With that said, we do get gripping descriptions of the terrifying situations that the women found themselves in, and we get an appreciation for their bravery and determination, in the face of possible death. It's amazing how frequently they had to rely on their wits to save their own lives, but they continued in this profession because they felt in their hearts that they had to continue.
The only thing holding me back from giving this 5 stars is how generally repetitive the story is. It's no fault of the author if many of the characters and the situations they faced were so similar, or even that the source material is so dramatic that by the end of the book, I was tired of hearing about so many life-or-death emergency landings, crashes, and near-misses.
Overall, the book is inspiring and meaningful, and I'd recommend to just about anyone.
December 8, 2021
I loved this book so much! Sometimes I feel like I know a fair amount of history. But then I read this book written for a younger audience and feel like I know nothing! How could I not have heard of the 1929 Women's Air Derby?? It was fascinating and inspiring and so fun! I love these women. I love this author. I have no desire to fly planes but I'm so glad these women wanted to. They were pioneers!
I want to remember the story of Marvel Crosson and her brother building an airplane in their backyard. They put the wooden frame wings through the windows so mother could sew on the fabric wing covers. Then all they needed was a motor. So they lied to the guy selling motors for boats, and only boats--he wanted no flight related deaths in his conscience.
Flying was crazy back then. So dangerous! If a man died while flying people just shook their heads and said what a shame. If a woman died, they said she should have stayed at home where she belonged. These women persisted and broke each other's records and made a living to support their families and reveled in the freedom of flight. I was very inspired!
I want to remember the story of Marvel Crosson and her brother building an airplane in their backyard. They put the wooden frame wings through the windows so mother could sew on the fabric wing covers. Then all they needed was a motor. So they lied to the guy selling motors for boats, and only boats--he wanted no flight related deaths in his conscience.
Flying was crazy back then. So dangerous! If a man died while flying people just shook their heads and said what a shame. If a woman died, they said she should have stayed at home where she belonged. These women persisted and broke each other's records and made a living to support their families and reveled in the freedom of flight. I was very inspired!
August 4, 2020
Non-fiction about the first women’s air derby and it brought tears to my eyes in places. I am so proud of these women for overcoming the challenges they had to overcome to prove that women belonged in the air just the same as men. This is non-fiction, but it reads as easily as fiction. The author moves the plot along and makes it exciting. I loved learning about all the different women flyers, their personalities, their backgrounds, and what drew them to aviation. I’ll be reading more by this author for sure. Highly recommend.
July 18, 2023
Loved this book! It reads like a fast paced novel and tells the story of the ladies who flew in the first women's transcontinental derby in 1929. These women were incredibly brave and faced obstacles of blatant gender bias. The author provides details about airplanes and navigation that enhance the perspective of flying during the 1920s.
February 3, 2022
Steve Sheinkin is one of the best nonfiction writers out there. For any age.
October 16, 2019
It's hard to go wrong in choosing to read a book by Steve Sheinkin, and this one, focused on the Women's Air Derby of 1929, is no exception to that rule. In it, Sheinkin shares the stories of the women who participated in that race, the first of its kind featuring female pilots. Not only does he provide some background information about flight, planes, and early women flyers, but he quickly draws readers into this story, which is filled with all sorts of drama, intrigue, possible sabotage, and danger. During those days, it must have stung for some of the more experienced pilots to be overlooked in favor of the more-famous aviator, Amelia Earhart, but all of them seemed determined to remove the barriers that prevented women from being taken seriously as pilots, paving the way for the future generation to follow their own dreams of taking to the skies. Readers will enjoy learning about how some of these women were daredevils as youngsters, drawn to flight by jumping off roofs or as passengers in planes. Some, like Marvel Crosson and her brother Joe, saved every penny they earned to buy their first plane. The book is filled with the escapades of Pancho Barnes, Louise Thaden, Bobbi Trout, and others, twenty in all, and mostly focuses on that race from California to Cleveland. Relying on interviews and extensive research, Sheinkin allows readers to hear those air pioneers' voices and feel as though they, too, are high in the sky, dealing with heat, bad weather, confusing directions, engine trouble, and exhaustion. The popularity of the race is described as fans greeted the women at every stopping point. I was surprised that they were expected to attend banquets and give speeches along the way when I'm sure they would much rather have gone to bed or planned their routes for the next day. Although the author never names names, there are plenty of hints that some of the problems the pilots encountered were due to tampering of their equipment and that carbon monoxide poisoning might have caused the death of one woman. I was riveted from the very first page and had to shake my head at some of the sexist attitudes and comments the women faced. Accompanied by several black and white archival photographs and sketches, the book will surely prompt readers to seek out additional reading about these women who were clearly born to fly. As someone who isn't particularly fond of RIDING in a plane, I finished the book impressed with those who had the nerves and skills to FLY one.
September 1, 2019
The second person POV worked well to make the story both unique and action-packed. Telling the story of several of the most prolific female aviators and the derby race that killed one, injured or destroyed planes, and ultimately was a successful proving ground that women should and can be worthy of flight when all the cards were stacked against them (even multiple accounts of tampering with their planes!)
Sheinkin does it again to find a noteworthy story and make it appealing for everyone to read by finding details that promote thoughtful conversation to recognize the gains made by subgroups through perseverance, education, rebelliousness, and more.
Told as a cohesive collective biography, the book flows nicely with the central element being the derby itself building from where each woman started from or got their itch to fly. Never sugar-coating their obstacles from family, society, and prohibitive technology, Sheinkin lived their lives in a way to tell their stories fairly authentically, finding comments from reporters capturing the women after flight saying that they hadn't combed their hair or powdered their noses, to show the bias they regularly experienced (including commentary that when a man's life is lost in flight, it's tragic but not unexpected but when a woman's life is lost, it's a travesty of epic proportions and no woman should ever pilot a plane).
I can't wait to see the final copy with the illustrations of these women's prowess in the cockpit.
Sheinkin does it again to find a noteworthy story and make it appealing for everyone to read by finding details that promote thoughtful conversation to recognize the gains made by subgroups through perseverance, education, rebelliousness, and more.
Told as a cohesive collective biography, the book flows nicely with the central element being the derby itself building from where each woman started from or got their itch to fly. Never sugar-coating their obstacles from family, society, and prohibitive technology, Sheinkin lived their lives in a way to tell their stories fairly authentically, finding comments from reporters capturing the women after flight saying that they hadn't combed their hair or powdered their noses, to show the bias they regularly experienced (including commentary that when a man's life is lost in flight, it's tragic but not unexpected but when a woman's life is lost, it's a travesty of epic proportions and no woman should ever pilot a plane).
I can't wait to see the final copy with the illustrations of these women's prowess in the cockpit.
August 26, 2019
I will never say no to a Steve Sheinkin book and this one was no exception. Born to Fly tells the story of the first women pilots and the first Female Air Derby. It is a fascinating story with a lot of names I was not familiar with. Of course everyone knows who Amelia Earhart was, but what was interesting is that she was not the best pilot only the most famous and she knew it. At the time there were other famous female pilots like Pancho Barnes, Marvel Crosson, Louise Thaden and many others who flew the derby. They were beset by sabotage and problems that were never really investigated. The pilots believe that the sabotage actually led to the tragic death of one of their members. I am now fascinated by Louise Thaden, the winner of the derby, and several of the others. Sheinkin does a fantastic job showing how they all got their start in flying, generally from jumping off a roof! Marvel and her brother even built their own plane. He also shows the prejudice against women flyers and how they each had to fight for their place in the skies. The Derby itself was so very interesting. They flew from California to Ohio with multiple stops along the way. Each night was spent eating rubber chicken at a banquet (the pilots would have rather worked on their planes or slept). There were mishaps, crashes, breakdowns and so much more along the way. Flying was definitely different in 1929.
September 29, 2019
Oh, my!!! Get this in the hands of our grades 6-12 students.
Louise Thaden. Marvel Crosson. Bobbi Trout. Ruth Nichols. Pancho Barnes. Many others. And Amelia Earhart. Most of us know Earhart, but she was one of a tribe of women who, beginning in the 1920s, were crazy about flying and setting records. Twenty of these women had the honor of flying in the 1929 Women's Air Derby, an eight day, cross country trip from CA to OH.
Sheinkin introduces us to several of these women with nail biting stories of their childhood and young adulthood stunts. Anyone for jumping off a roof with an umbrella? Or onto a horse trotting by? Or into a haystack? No. Let's grease some boards, set them up against a building and sled down them!
Sheinkin builds up to the derby and then the narrative from there is just gripping. (I read this book in a day. Couldn't put it down.) One pilot's plane broke down twice on the way to the derby--both times she hiked and hitched a ride into a town, found a mechanic or ordered a part and went back and fixed her plane. Unbelievable--and that's how the stories are for eight days. One pilot smelled smoke - landed her plan - discovered her bag of personals was on fire (someone may have thrown a cigarette butt down into on accident?) - dragged the bag out of her plane, put it out, got back in the plane and kept going.
Then there’s the larger story. Suspected sabotage. Men calling for the race to be cancelled because women can’t and shouldn’t do this. Journalists asking about their clothes (which they wouldn’t ask a male pilot). Lack of control of crowds at the airfields. Wearing the pilots out with banquets at each night’s stop (and a lot of chicken). And just how young aviation was at this point. These women flew with road maps in their laps as a way to guide them to their next stop! And what happened if the map flew out of the airplane????
THESE WOMEN WERE FREAKING AMAZING!!!! And Sheinkin’s narrative is superb. His "source notes" and "acknowledgments" and extensive bibliography assures the reader of his authority on the topic.
There are photographs of the women as well as nicely-placed illustrations by Bijou Karman—just enough of both to add interest.
Towards the end, Sheinkin addresses the world’s fascination with Amelia Earhart. Why do we know about her and not Louise Thaden who was just as remarkable (and won the derby)? He attributes this to Earhart’s mysterious disappearance. Because of her fame (she was the first woman to cross the Atlantic in a plane and then to fly across the Atlantic solo) she was also able to advocate (more loudly than others?) for the role of women in the aviation field.
I’d book talk this in grades 6-12. I shouldn't pin this book onto particular readers, but I do think any student interested in NASA or aviation or a variety of other STEM topics will find this read fascinating. I’d read aloud the first three pages and then leave it to be snatched up by a reader.
Louise Thaden. Marvel Crosson. Bobbi Trout. Ruth Nichols. Pancho Barnes. Many others. And Amelia Earhart. Most of us know Earhart, but she was one of a tribe of women who, beginning in the 1920s, were crazy about flying and setting records. Twenty of these women had the honor of flying in the 1929 Women's Air Derby, an eight day, cross country trip from CA to OH.
Sheinkin introduces us to several of these women with nail biting stories of their childhood and young adulthood stunts. Anyone for jumping off a roof with an umbrella? Or onto a horse trotting by? Or into a haystack? No. Let's grease some boards, set them up against a building and sled down them!
Sheinkin builds up to the derby and then the narrative from there is just gripping. (I read this book in a day. Couldn't put it down.) One pilot's plane broke down twice on the way to the derby--both times she hiked and hitched a ride into a town, found a mechanic or ordered a part and went back and fixed her plane. Unbelievable--and that's how the stories are for eight days. One pilot smelled smoke - landed her plan - discovered her bag of personals was on fire (someone may have thrown a cigarette butt down into on accident?) - dragged the bag out of her plane, put it out, got back in the plane and kept going.
Then there’s the larger story. Suspected sabotage. Men calling for the race to be cancelled because women can’t and shouldn’t do this. Journalists asking about their clothes (which they wouldn’t ask a male pilot). Lack of control of crowds at the airfields. Wearing the pilots out with banquets at each night’s stop (and a lot of chicken). And just how young aviation was at this point. These women flew with road maps in their laps as a way to guide them to their next stop! And what happened if the map flew out of the airplane????
THESE WOMEN WERE FREAKING AMAZING!!!! And Sheinkin’s narrative is superb. His "source notes" and "acknowledgments" and extensive bibliography assures the reader of his authority on the topic.
There are photographs of the women as well as nicely-placed illustrations by Bijou Karman—just enough of both to add interest.
Towards the end, Sheinkin addresses the world’s fascination with Amelia Earhart. Why do we know about her and not Louise Thaden who was just as remarkable (and won the derby)? He attributes this to Earhart’s mysterious disappearance. Because of her fame (she was the first woman to cross the Atlantic in a plane and then to fly across the Atlantic solo) she was also able to advocate (more loudly than others?) for the role of women in the aviation field.
I’d book talk this in grades 6-12. I shouldn't pin this book onto particular readers, but I do think any student interested in NASA or aviation or a variety of other STEM topics will find this read fascinating. I’d read aloud the first three pages and then leave it to be snatched up by a reader.
March 29, 2021
This is a riveting account of the women pilots who competed in the 1926 Air Derby, the women's version of a men's cross-country flying race that organizers originally hesitated to offer to women, fearing they weren't up for the challenge.
Nonsense! Of course they were.
It features the well-known Amelia Earhart, but also women pilots such as:
Marvel Crosson
Louise Thaden
Pancho Barnes
Florence Lowe
Bobbi Trout
Ruth Elder
Gladys O'Donnell
Vera Dawn Walker
May Haizlip
Phoebe Omlie
Ruth Nichols
As they speed across the US, from California to Lake Erie, they have to deal with sabotage, exhaustion, carbon monoxide poisoning, getting lost when maps fly out of their hands, too many chicken dinners and constant dismissal of their efforts for no better reason than they're women.
It's a riveting read, and the winner... oooh, I won't spoil the ending. Yes, it's history, but it's probably not who you think, so enjoy the read and learn about the amazing women who pioneered aviation in America!
Teachers Note:
There is a four-page teaching guide offered for free by the publisher, with questions aligned to Common Core standards. It offers two (2) before reading activities (that involve computers for research), 12 comprehension questions and a writing prompt, and five (5) after reading activities.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Nonsense! Of course they were.
It features the well-known Amelia Earhart, but also women pilots such as:
Marvel Crosson
Louise Thaden
Pancho Barnes
Florence Lowe
Bobbi Trout
Ruth Elder
Gladys O'Donnell
Vera Dawn Walker
May Haizlip
Phoebe Omlie
Ruth Nichols
As they speed across the US, from California to Lake Erie, they have to deal with sabotage, exhaustion, carbon monoxide poisoning, getting lost when maps fly out of their hands, too many chicken dinners and constant dismissal of their efforts for no better reason than they're women.
It's a riveting read, and the winner... oooh, I won't spoil the ending. Yes, it's history, but it's probably not who you think, so enjoy the read and learn about the amazing women who pioneered aviation in America!
Teachers Note:
There is a four-page teaching guide offered for free by the publisher, with questions aligned to Common Core standards. It offers two (2) before reading activities (that involve computers for research), 12 comprehension questions and a writing prompt, and five (5) after reading activities.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
February 25, 2020
As usual for Sheinkin, this book feels like a thriller! Who will win the race? Will anyone get hurt or die? More importantly to the participants, would enough finish to help prove that women have as much right as men to fly? In many ways, this feels like one of Sheinkin’s most personal books: he includes a photo of his daughter, Anna, dressed up as Amelia Earhart for Halloween as part of his inspiration for the book, although in his acknowledgements he listed his actual motivation being a podcast he was in that mentioned the race as well as a film of the race that he heard a few weeks later. I love that Sheinkin took time to answer the implicit question of “so what?” by noting the astronauts who carried mementos with them into space from that race. Wow!!! Proof of how inspiring this was to women in the field! I am disappointed this didn’t win any awards, although Sheinkin won the Margaret A. Edwards Award fir 2020 for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults. Well deserved since virtually all his nonfiction has won awards. Highly recommended for Women��s history month, aviation history or just plain exciting books!
January 30, 2021
Steve Sheinkin found another great story from history that I didn't know about and wrote a strong book about it.
Amelia Earhart and other very early female pilots in the US agree to an air race across the country. I was fascinated by the way these women were talked about in the primary sources Sheinkin quoted and in the descriptions he gave of how the women were expected to dress, to talk, to not work on their own machines (even though pilots had to be their own mechanics), to not ask questions (even though the questions were directly related to their own safety in the race), etc. Infuriating and fascinating.
A very readable book for tweens and young teens and anyone who enjoys aviation stories.
Amelia Earhart and other very early female pilots in the US agree to an air race across the country. I was fascinated by the way these women were talked about in the primary sources Sheinkin quoted and in the descriptions he gave of how the women were expected to dress, to talk, to not work on their own machines (even though pilots had to be their own mechanics), to not ask questions (even though the questions were directly related to their own safety in the race), etc. Infuriating and fascinating.
A very readable book for tweens and young teens and anyone who enjoys aviation stories.
May 10, 2023
I don't often do 5 start readings simply because it's hard for me to know how to determine what really makes a book 5 stars haha. But for me, it felt right on this one. Historical nonfiction can be tricky as it can sometimes read like a textbook. But not in this case. The author kept the pace up and made me care deeply about all of the women featured in this book. I felt so proud of them, I even found myself first pumping in a 90-year late celebration at a few points. Being a woman has never been easy, but it is remarkably better today than ever before, thanks to women like these early aviators. An inspiring read for sure.
Read
January 29, 2020Why is Amelia Earhart probably the only female pilot you can name? This wonderful book profiles a host of early female pilots who participated in the first women's air race. It picks up speed about half way through when the actual race starts and doesn't let go until the end. Hand this to readers of fast-paced narrative nonfiction, particularly those interested in the lives of strong women.
September 18, 2025
Only read this because it’s the required book for the pentathlon team i help coach. But…the middle school reading level reallllly made this one tough for me to enjoy. I would have DNFed it if I wasn’t trying to hold kids accountable to sticking it out and reading it for themselves. Sometimes being a good example to students isn’t fun hahahah
December 9, 2022
Very entertaining read about the The First Women's Air Race Across America. The gutsy women who wanted to fly faced so many hardships, from American ideas about what women should and should not do, to lots of mechanical and logistical problems with the new practice of flying
January 9, 2020
This might be my favorite Steve Sheinkin book. I LOVED it! The way he writes about the first women's air derby across America is fascinating, and he brings all of these amazing women to life. The book is funny, sweet, sad and inspiring.
September 12, 2020
I expected this book to be exciting and it was, at some points, but it was also boring and took long to get to the interesting parts.
January 25, 2020
There is nothing I didn't like about this book.
October 11, 2025
Nonfiction writing is not easy. Steve Sheinkin writes some great books!
April 27, 2021
Absolutely amazing. I would REALLY like to see these stories told in a big budget Hollywood production. I'm a bit shocked that it hasn't happened yet. Thankfully, Sheinkin writes so well that I felt like I was watching a movie.
This is an incredible story of several insanely revolutionary women, each with a unique personality, who came together to race against each other and society's expectations in the 1929 Air Derby.
You should take an afternoon and read this one. You won't regret it.
This is an incredible story of several insanely revolutionary women, each with a unique personality, who came together to race against each other and society's expectations in the 1929 Air Derby.
You should take an afternoon and read this one. You won't regret it.
October 15, 2019
Sheinkin has done it again. His story like narration brings to life historical events readers will devour. We’ve all heard of Amelia Earhart and maybe Bessie Coleman. Here readers will get to know some incredibly brave and daring women of aviation. Their bravery went beyond the early and perilous days of flying to breaking the glass ceiling as we call it today for women. Women in the 20’s were considered delicate and frail, definitely not suited to handle an airplane. That was for big strong men. Women definitely should not work outside the home or God forbid, wear pants.
Born To Fly
In August 1929, a talented and outspoken group of female aviators spearheaded women’s rights when they participated in an all-woman nine-day, cross-country air race that kicked off in California.
Quoting Henry Ford , “I pay our women well so they can dress attractively and get married.”
The women were fighting centuries of bias. This aside, they were solely interested in becoming successful fliers. Changing public opinion of women’s capabilities was a secondary outcome. To name a few of the brave: Marvel Crosson, Amelia Earhart, Louise Thaden, Ruth Nichols, were among the 99 (nearly all white) licensed female pilots in 1929. Flying opportunities for women of color were even MORE sharply limited. (Only African American Bessie Coleman is mentioned in this account.)
Sheinkin is a master at storytelling where the facts are WELL researched and founded. This Women’s Air Derby was highly controversial which became even more so when a pilot was killed in a crash that may have been caused by someone tampering with her plane. Some wanted the women to fail so desperately to sabotage the planes.
Born to a Fly explores the 1929 race in detail, using the event to reveal the lives of many of the early female fliers.
The book includes a large number of period photographs and illustrations. and outstanding backmatter round out an engaging and enlightening historical novel.
Suspenseful, informative, exciting, tragic and uplifting. (Nonfiction. 11-16)
Born To Fly
In August 1929, a talented and outspoken group of female aviators spearheaded women’s rights when they participated in an all-woman nine-day, cross-country air race that kicked off in California.
Quoting Henry Ford , “I pay our women well so they can dress attractively and get married.”
The women were fighting centuries of bias. This aside, they were solely interested in becoming successful fliers. Changing public opinion of women’s capabilities was a secondary outcome. To name a few of the brave: Marvel Crosson, Amelia Earhart, Louise Thaden, Ruth Nichols, were among the 99 (nearly all white) licensed female pilots in 1929. Flying opportunities for women of color were even MORE sharply limited. (Only African American Bessie Coleman is mentioned in this account.)
Sheinkin is a master at storytelling where the facts are WELL researched and founded. This Women’s Air Derby was highly controversial which became even more so when a pilot was killed in a crash that may have been caused by someone tampering with her plane. Some wanted the women to fail so desperately to sabotage the planes.
Born to a Fly explores the 1929 race in detail, using the event to reveal the lives of many of the early female fliers.
The book includes a large number of period photographs and illustrations. and outstanding backmatter round out an engaging and enlightening historical novel.
Suspenseful, informative, exciting, tragic and uplifting. (Nonfiction. 11-16)
March 11, 2020
Born to Fly by Steve Sheinkin, 262 pages. NON-FICTION Roaring Brook Press, 2019. $20.
Language: PG (5 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS, HS – ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
A group of daring women in the late 1920’s challenge the largely held viewpoint that women couldn’t fly, by competing in an Air Derby. Beginning when they were young girls, Sheinkin describes six of the girls and their love of taking to the air through jumping off roofs with umbrellas, to inventing their own rollercoasters. As they grew older each had their own moment when they knew they wanted to fly planes and their journey to participating in the Air Derby in 1929. The Air Derby is the bulk of the story but is interlaced with human interest stories about some of the pilots and the challenges they faced. The women pilots’ goal was to show the world that women were qualified to take to the skies.
I loved this book. I got totally caught up in the Air Derby. I thought I had picked who I wanted to win the race, until Sheinkin would explain the backstory of another pilot and their spunk and by the end, I found myself cheering for all of them. This is an inspiring story that Sheinkin has masterfully plotted to draw in the reader and he made it impossible to put down.
Reviewer, C. Peterson
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2020...
Language: PG (5 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS, HS – ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
A group of daring women in the late 1920’s challenge the largely held viewpoint that women couldn’t fly, by competing in an Air Derby. Beginning when they were young girls, Sheinkin describes six of the girls and their love of taking to the air through jumping off roofs with umbrellas, to inventing their own rollercoasters. As they grew older each had their own moment when they knew they wanted to fly planes and their journey to participating in the Air Derby in 1929. The Air Derby is the bulk of the story but is interlaced with human interest stories about some of the pilots and the challenges they faced. The women pilots’ goal was to show the world that women were qualified to take to the skies.
I loved this book. I got totally caught up in the Air Derby. I thought I had picked who I wanted to win the race, until Sheinkin would explain the backstory of another pilot and their spunk and by the end, I found myself cheering for all of them. This is an inspiring story that Sheinkin has masterfully plotted to draw in the reader and he made it impossible to put down.
Reviewer, C. Peterson
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2020...
October 23, 2019
In this riveting account, Newbery Honor author Sheinkin (Bomb) introduces 20 American pilots who flew in the 1929 Women’s Air Derby, from Santa Monica, Calif., to Cleveland, Ohio. How the women deftly handled weather, accidents, fires, exhaustion, and far too many chicken dinner banquets are among the accounts.
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