  | Jack Knight's brave flight : how one gutsy pilot saved the U.S. air mail service Author: Esbaum, Jill | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
In 1921, a daring pilot named Jack Knight takes part in a coast-to-coast airplane race, successfully navigating through a blizzard over America's heartland, to prove to lawmakers that the US Air Mail Service was worth saving.
| Illustrator: | Innerst, Stacy |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: LG Reading Level: 4.20 Points: .5 Quiz: 517261 |
Reviews:
School Library Journal (03/01/22)
Booklist (02/15/22)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/02/22)
The Hornbook (00/05/22)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 02/15/2022 One hundred years ago, the mail system was in jeopardy, and in this informational picture book, Esbaum takes readers back to a pivotal night. On the evening of February 22, 1921, Jack Knight was flying precious cargo—not a celebrity or jewels, but six sacks of mail! Law makers wanted to end air mail, saying that moving mail by train was safer and cheaper. But mail officials knew that planes could transport mail faster, and Jack Knight was part of a team on an all-day, all-night coast-to-coast race to save air mail. Visceral descriptions relate Knight’s flying conditions in an open cockpit without modern technology: burning oil drums lighting runways, fog too thick to see through, and cold that froze his flight suit to the seat (he had to be cut out!). Innerst’s equally dramatic illustrations alternate between airport scenes on the ground in yesteryear yellows and Knight’s frigid night flying in luminous midnight blues. The story ends in success, with a concluding author’s note and a time line offering more details about U.S. mail service. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
Booklist - 02/15/2022 - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 03/01/2022 K-Gr 3—A hundred years ago, America's lawmakers wanted to end air mail, due to the danger and expense; Jack Knight was one of the pilots who participated in a series of overnight flights to prove that air mail was faster than trains. Readers may rightly wonder if speedier mail service was more important than pilots' lives, but Jack's flights from Nebraska to Chicago, through fog and a blizzard, make an exciting story. The text maintains a tense, suspenseful pace, and the watercolor, ink, pencil, rubber stamp, and digital illustrations bring the journey to life with swirling snow in the dark sky and lights on the runways below. Extensive back matter includes an author's note, photos, highlights in the history of the U.S. mail, bibliography, and illustrator's note. VERDICTThis historical adventure has great appeal and may renew kids' interest in the postal service; a valuable addition to nonfiction collections.—Jenny Arch - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
