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With more than 100 full-color photographs and illustrations and detailed sidebars, this entry in DK's acclaimed Biography series celebrate a pioneer who changed how the world is viewed: aviatrix Amelia Earhart.
Supports the Common Core State Standards.
non fiction/biographical Young Adult novel.

This book is written for kids, but is still a bit thick on the idealizing of Amelia. ( )

I liked this book for several reasons. The main idea of the book is to inform readers about the life of Amelia Earhart. The biography is a chapter book which provides a nice break up of the main events of Amelia Earhart's life. The book also includes pictures of important aspects of Earhart’s life, such as her childhood home (which is now the Amelia Earhart museum) and pictures of Amelia at different ages throughout the book. This gives readers a great visual, which enhances the book. One of my favorite things about the book is that it defines words for readers in little bubbles on the bottom of the pages. For example, on page 25 the book defines armistice – an agreement to stop fighting. This helps readers, especially young readers, better understand the biography and not have to look up unknown words. This also builds vocabulary and still makes the vocabulary in the book appropriate for young readers. The book is significantly detailed and explains many aspects of Amelia’s life – from early childhood to her disappearance in 1937. For example, the book explains that before Amelia was a pilot she was also a social worker, truck driver and nurses assistant. This gives readers background about Amelia Earhart’s character and personality which makes the book more fascinating to read. Lastly, I enjoyed that the book had a message of empowerment to young females – the theme in the biography was that Amelia Earhart followed her dreams despite the fact that they were uncommon dreams for a woman. For example, the book discusses how “they (Amelia and Muriel) had little interests in tea parties – they wanted to play games commonly thought of as “boy” activities such as baseball or football”. The chapter also goes on to show how Amelia’s parents encouraged her and never dismissed her interests even if they weren’t typical for a girl. This can give young female readers hope and encourage them to achieve their dreams as well, whatever they may be! ( )

Personal Response: As with most of DK's biographies, this one was highly engaging. The information, amazingly, can be appropriate for young learners, middle grade and YA learners, and even adults who lack background knowledge. The images throughout the book make it personal and just enjoyable.

Curricular Connections: I would use this mostly for research purposes in the areas of Women of History, Aviation, and in the study of the biographical genre. Obviously, I would use it for learning about the amazing Amelia Earhart.