Today is Amelia Earhart’s birthday; she would have been 104, or maybe still is somewhere on a tropical island.  Amelia’s plane went down on July 2, 1937 en route from New Guinea -never to be found.  In looking for other books illustrated by Brian Selznick (author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret), I found Pam Munoz Ryan’s children’s story about Earhart’s famous friendship with First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt – Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride.

Ryan stays close to the historical facts: the two women were friends, the famous aviator did offer to be Eleanor’s flight instructor – Eleanor went as far as getting her student pilot license – and the famous night flight over Washington, D.C. in the story really happened.

Aside from the biographical information of the two women, Ryan offers children a look into the wonder of flying a small plane, and the magic of night flying in one.  Anyone who has experienced the majesty of flying into National Airport at night, amid the lights of the Washington Monument and the Capitol Dome, will appreciate Ryan’s description. But it was the wonder of flying in a small plane at night that brought back good memories to me.

Related Post:  Review of The Invention of Hugo Cabret