Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean

Amelia Earhart departed on her historic 1928 voyage across the Atlantic from the small Newfoundland port town of Trepassey. After several days of false starts due to weather and other complications, Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. This graphic novel tells Earhart's story - and her influence - through the eyes of Grace, a curious young girl of Trepassey.

The framing of this story works very well: Grace is intent on being a reporter (even among the real newspaper reporters sent to Trepassey from around North America) which reflects Amelia Earhart's determination to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, and I found myself wanting to see them both succeed. In fact, I was hoping that Grace and Earhart show more shared a second characteristic and that they were both real historical figures. Alas, there is no indication in the supporting information that Grace was a real person.

This Broad Ocean has a distinctive visual style with the use of only black, white, and a light turquoise colour in the illustrations. The drawings are simple in both their lack of colours and the lines used, but movement is well indicated. I am not sure if it was intentional, but Grace and Earhart bear a striking physical resemblance to one another with freckles and short, fly-away hair (truly, they have the same haircut except that Grace's is a touch longer), which undoubtedly contributed to my impression that Grace is the reflection of a young Earhart.

Despite some fictionalization in this graphic novel, there is quite a bit of supplementary information to the main text of the book for those who are curious to know more. Over four pages of discussion about individual illustrated panels found in the book are at the back, as well as a bibliography and selected reading list. The introduction by Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot a space shuttle, is a personal testament to Earhart's impact in her own life and achievements.

Ultimately, this is a great introduction to Amelia Earhart's life and influence in a format that is popular with young students. show less

Taylor, S., Sturm, J., & Towle, B. (2010). Amelia earhart. City: Hyperion Book CH.
This book is cleverly written and illustrated much like a comic strip or graphic novel which will appeal to readers from about grade 5 and above. It highlights a chapter in the life of Amelia Earhart when she crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1928. Although this is a fictionalized biography, the dialogue clearly represents Amelia Earhart's qualities and brings her to life. There is an introduction to the book by Eileen Collins, the first female pilot of a Space Shuttle and how she was able to take one of Amelia Earhart's scarves into space. She continues her introduction with how Amelia Earhart became interested in flying and how that affected her own love of show more aviation. The last few pages of the book contain panel discussions, a bibliography with suggested reading and credits. show less

Likes: Nice graphic novel (simple black, white, and blue pictures which reminded me of the sky and ocean, which was cool) about Amelia Earhart, told from the POV of a young girl who is a budding journalist in Newfoundland and meets Amelia at the start of her first Atlantic crossing. Has a chapter in the back with background info to accompany the panels, as well as some suggested reading. Should appeal to teens and older kids (I think it features the word "damn" at some point) who are interested in Amelia and flying in general.

Dislikes: super short, I would have appreciated some more text and background info.

Story of Amelia Earhart's departure from Trepassey, Newfoundland, in her flight across the Atlantic Ocean from the point of view of a young female newspaper reporter, Grace Goodland. Book also gives key events from Earhart's later life and flashback to her first experience in an airplane. Intro is written by first female space shuttle pilot, Eileen Collins--re: women as pilots. Good example of two women (Earhart and fictionalized Goodland) who follow their passion to accomplish the unexpected.