Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic

I really liked this story! I absolutely loved the writing. The words painted a picture in my mind “The moon peeks between wisps of shimmering clouds. Distant stars flicker and fade. Her mind soars”. Another feature that I liked in this story was the language and repetition used to emphasize the danger Amelia Earhart experienced “Hours of flame streaming out of the cracked exhaust pipe. Hours of being tested by the dark gods. Hours of clammy gray.” And “Alone, alone, alone, alone, alone”. Finally, I also really liked the illustrations. The text was very small on the page to allow the story to be told through the pictures. Every illustration was a two page spread which enhanced the story a lot. I think that the main idea of show more this story was to tell the courageous story of Amelia Earhart. show less

One May night in 1932, in Habour Grace, Newfoundland, a woman and her plane waited to take off. Amelia Earhart, the famous aviator, was attempting the second trans-Atlantic flight in history, and the first to be piloted by a woman. Over the next fourteen hours and fifty-six minutes, across two thousand and twenty-six miles, she flew through the night, braving storms, nose-dives, and a leaky exhaust pipe, to finally land in the beauty of the morning, in a field in Derry, Northern Ireland...

The second picture-book I have read from author/illustrator team Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor, following upon their Trapped! A Whale's Rescue , this lovely work documents an extraordinary moment in aviation history. The prose is simple but show more expressive, capturing the beauty and terror of Amelia's night flight, while the accompanying artwork, done in gouache and watercolor, is lovely. The rare material gives a list of further sources, and some quotations from Amelia Earhart. Recommended to young aviation buffs, and to anyone looking for picture-books about Amelia Earhart. show less

Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Wendell Minor

The Text: In lyrical prose, Burleigh tells the story of Amelia Earhart's famous solo flight across the Atlantic. He describes her emotions and what she saw and experienced as well as the technical aspects of the flight.

The Illustrations: Minor's gouache and watercolor illustrations are swirling symphonies of color and pattern. Amelia's red plane drifts through multi-colored clouds and over dark, rippling seas. Her tension, determination, and focus are shown in close-ups of her face and the plane.

The Extras: The endpapers include a detailed map of Amelia's flight and simple diagram of her plane. The afterword gives a simple overview of show more Amelia's life and famous flights. There is a technical note from the illustrator on the details of her plane, additional bibliography and internet resources, and a short list of quotes from Amelia Earhart.

Verdict: Do we really need another poetical biography of Amelia Earhart? The language is lovely, the illustrations are lovely, and there are many, many biographies of this famous woman. I would also rather see more factual information and less on how Amelia might have felt crossing the ocean. If you have a huge body of fans clamoring for more books on Amelia, you might consider this title, otherwise Candace Fleming's new biography is all you need on the subject of Amelia Earhart.

ISBN: 978-1416967330; Published February 2011 by Simon & Schuster; Borrowed from the library show less

I LOVE this nontraditional biographical snapshot of Amelia Earhart. The illustrations are incredibly gorgeous, and the simple, informative, yet poetic text matches it in beauty. Students who wouldn't normally be interested in aviation and/or Amelia Earhart will have their curiosity piqued with this book. Although it only takes us on one of Earhart's amazing journeys in flight, we learn a great deal about her daring tenacity and incredible skills. There is excellent source information in the back: quotes from Amelia, Internet resources, afterword, and bibliography.

In this book, the author recounts Amelia Earhart's journey flying across the Atlantic. He tells of the social climate at the time and why it was important that she did this as a woman. The story then unfolds of the stormy conditions Earhart faced over the Atlantic, and concludes with her safe arrival in Ireland. The book ends with an afterword and a generous amount of information of the author's sources and actual Earhart quotations. This was a great informational text, and I found it interesting that no mention of her final flight was ever made. I feel that is the only thing she is ever remembered for, so reading something that only focused on this achievement was refreshing. I could see myself using this in a classroom setting in many show more ways, such as teaching on informational books, human achievements, female role models, or any number of things.
Media: Gouache & watercolor show less

Night Flight is about Amelia Earhart's 1932 historic solo flight from Newfoundland to Ireland.

Earlier this year, my third grade students had several lessons on historical fact vs. historical fiction. One of the topics we covered was Amelia Earhart. They became very interested in learning about this remarkable woman. As a result, I'm constantly on the look out for good books on Amelia Earhart to share with them.

Burleigh's book is a beautifully illustrated biographical picture book detailing Earhart's historic flight. Even though most readers will already know that Earhart's flight was successful, the text is written in a suspenseful manner that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Students will enjoy Wendell Minor's classically show more beautiful paintings and educators will appreciate the afterword, technical note, bibliography and listing of quotes by Earhart that Burleigh includes at the end of the book. This is an excellent book to supplement lessons on historical fact vs. historical fiction or for celebrating famous women in history.

Night Flight is a must add for any school or classroom library collection.

Recommended for 3rd Grade and up.

Mrs. Archer's rating: 5 of 5! show less

Night Flight tells the story of Amelia Earhart's first journey alone across the Atlantic Ocean. The book tells the struggles she faces, but still landed safely. I think this is a great book to have in the classroom because it shows female empowerment. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by herself and that is a huge accomplishment. Even though she faced difficulties, she never gave up. This is a book that can be read to tell the story of Amelia Earhart, as well as chasing your dreams and never giving up.