Steve Sheinkin introduces the reader to a group of women pilots who make history. Of course Amelia Earhart is included, but the best part is meeting all the other pilots of all ages and from many different walks of life. These women broke records and accepted challenges including a cross country air race. The text reads like a great fiction book with lots of suspense. This is a great book to share with girls to show that women can do anything. I will definitely be adding this title to my middle school library's collection.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The name that always come to mind when female aviators are mentioned is the famously known Amelia Earhart. However, there were many other female pilots who have made an impact in this field during the same era.

Born to Fly-The First Women’s Air Race across America was a fascinating children’s nonfiction book about remarkable, but little known women pilots such as Louise McPhetridge, Ruth Elder, Marvel Crosson, Florence Lowe, Raymonde de Laroche, Harriet Quimby, Bessie Coleman(the first African American pilot in the United States), Elinor Smith (world’s youngest pilot-male or female)and Neta Snook (who taught Amelia Earhart how to fly).

The author wrote in a language suited for this age group. He also engaged his audience with inspiring stories of courage and resiliency. Most importantly, the author gave voice to these women’s outstanding accomplishments so that all generations will remember their names and place in history. This was a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read.
Highly recommended for readers of all ages and should definitely be included in school and classroom libraries.

This is an engaging nonfiction text that reads like a novel! We've all heard of Amelia Earhart, but this book gives readers a sense of her personality along with several other female pilots in her social and professional circles, most of whom we never learn anything about otherwise.

Steve Sheinkin has written another fascinating account of a little known piece of history. His writing is thorough and easy to read. I had always thought Amelia Earhart was an excellent pilot. In truth she was a decent pilot with great public relations people. Many other lesser known female pilots such as Marvel Crosson, Louise Thaden, and Ruth Nichols, among others, did not receive as much attention in history. I will highly r commend this book to my students.

In 1929, pretty much anything that could be made a contest became a contest, and the bigger, better, and more dangerous, the better. Flying was still fairly new, and air shows attracted big crowds. There weren't a lot of pilots, and there were fewer pilots who were women, since women were deemed weaker and less mentally able to handle the rigors of flight. This, of course, was ridiculous, and the women who entered the first Air Derby were all different examples of this. The most familiar name to modern tweens was Amelia Earhart, but others, like Pancho Barnes, and Elinor Smith may ring bells as well. Starting with the childhoods of these women, Sheinkin shows us how they all defied current conventions to embrace air travel, from jumping off roofs as children to fearlessly taking lessons and even, in the case of Marvel Crosson, building their own planes! Once we understand all of the women involved (and some others, like Bessie Coleman, who didn't fly in it but contributed to women's aviation), we get to experience the race! Starting in California, weaving through Texas, and ending up in Cleveland, Ohio, the course was not easy to navigate, and perils were rife. The women's planes were sabotaged in many ways that weren't fully investigated and were never proven, even though they most likely lead to the death of one of the flyers. There were also accidents, sudden landings, and midair mishaps. The weather was hot, comforts were few, and the evenings of "rest" were filled with banquets and too many chicken dinners, but the women were determined and fearless. The rave hinged on not only the flying skill of the pilots, but the eccentricities of their planes, as well as sheer dumb luck. Several women had to stop out because of plane issues, and one woman flew past Columbus (the next to the last stop) and went straight to Cleveland, thereby disqualifying herself. In the end, Louise Thaden won. With the Great Depression starting just a few months after the Derby, aviation took a lot of blows, but many of the women continued to be involved in aviation and certainly set the stage for women to be active in the field.

Strengths: This will put some new names before many readers; I especially was intrigued by Pancho Barnes and Marvel Crosson and might have to see if there are any books about them! The details of the race are very exciting, and there is a good mix of what is going on and what the women felt abou tit. The research is remarkable-- luckily, there are memoirs by the flyers and lots of newspaper articles detailing every move! This reminded me a lot of Speno's The Great American Foot Race:Ballyhoo for the Bunion Derby! which is set during this era. Great nonfiction choice for readers who want an exciting tale!

Weaknesses: There are some photographs, but there are also a lot of illustrations. I find that my students prefer photos if any exist. I know it is probably more expensive to include them, but the drawings never seem to be a draw for my readers. This was also a bit confusing at the beginning, since there were so many people who needed to be introduced.

What I really think: Definitely purchasing, and can see this getti

Very interesting book about female pilots and all the difficulties they endured. Upon reading, you’ll get a small snippet into their lives from childhood up, which helps others to see they were children like most others but had a certain “spark” that led each of them to pursue learning to fly. Nevertheless this isn’t an easy read; by that I mean any student reading this should have a teacher, parent, or librarian to guide them into a deeper understanding.
I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for my volunteer review.

I am still looking forward to this book, because I am a huge fan of Steve Sheinkin, but the file I downloaded had chucks of text in the wrong order, and the result was so garbled, I had to stop reading. I was really enjoying what I was able to read.