BRAVE HARRIET

As they did in True Heart (1999), Moss and Payne have produced a vivid story, with equally vibrant illustrations, inspired by a historical event. Harriet Quimby was the first woman to fly alone across the English Channel, a feat that went all but unnoticed because it took place on April 16, 1912—the day the Titanic sank. Quimby was already a newspaper reporter, and she became the first American woman to receive a pilot’s license. Told in the first person, much of the description of her brief, cold, and daring flight across the Channel is taken from her own account of it for the New York Herald. Moss weaves a rich tapestry of description for Quimby’s story, full of heightened but crystalline language describing the desire to fly, and the fulfillment of that desire. Payne’s illustrations have wonderful heft and texture and just the right period feel. Details of the “aeroplane” and of the characters’ gesture and dress are done with wit and grace. Aviator Gustav Hamel’s lame-brained plot to impersonate Harriet is straightfowardly presented in the text but with no attempt to hide its foolish sexism. (author’s note) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)