A chance conversation between young Charlene and her two brothers about what she wants to do when she is an adult blossoms into an educational dialogue in which Charlene teaches her brothers a thing or two about women and their participation in the field of aeronautics.
Beginning with her revelation that Leila Marie Cody flew in a kite years before the Wright brothers created their airplane, Charlene continues with a “who’s who” of influential female figures. Recounting history from Anne Morrow Lindbergh, who was the first American woman to earn her glider pilot’s license, to Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman astronaut, Charlene confirms that girls can be anything they want to be—and, in fact, they can fly!
About the Authors
Partners in Homan and Reilly Design, authors Lynn and Thomas have extensive experience in historical research, writing, and design. A licensed pilot, Reilly has served as an aviation consultant and has flown both fixed-wing aircraft and hot-air balloons. Homan earned a BA in history from West Virginia University and is involved in the creation of museum exhibitions, functioning as editor, curator, and designer. They are the authors of Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen, The Tuskegee Airmen Story, and Tuskegee Airmen: American Heroes. All are published by Pelican.
About the Illustrator
Illustrator Rosalie M. Shepherd is a landscape and portrait painter who works with oil, charcoal, and watercolor and has worked extensively as a graphic designer. This is her third book with Homan and Reilly. She also illustrated the late David Collins’s last book, Clarence Thomas, Fighter with Words.
GIRLS FLY!
By Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly
Illustrated by Rosalie M. Shepherd
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Transportation / Aviation
32 pp. 8 1/2 x 11
31 color illustrations
ISBN: 9781589801547 hc