“Reaching back and helping others to succeed – that’s where I’d like for my legacy to be.” David E. Harris, 1st Black Pilot for a Commercial Airline (NPR Interview)
Friday, August 19th is National Aviation Day. It is a day designated to observe and celebrate the history and pioneers of aviation, which include airplanes and other forms of air transportation, like space travel. The quote above is from David E. Harris, who in 1964 became the first Black commercial pilot for American Airlines. Awarding-winning author and journalist, Michael H. Cottman, tells his story in Segregated Skies: One Pilot’s Trailblazing Journey to Rise Above Racial Barriers (National Geographic Kids, 2021). Indeed, Harris was a role model, mentor, and source of pride for Black pilots entering the industry of commercial flight. Other books featured range from fun fiction stories to informative nonfiction biographies.
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1. Astro Girl
Ken Wilson-Max | Candlewick | November 16, 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
2. One Step Further: My Story of Math, the Moon, and a Lifelong Mission
Katherine Johnson | Joylette Hylick | Katherine Moore | Charnelle Barlow | National Geographic | 2021 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
3. My Rainy Day Rocket Ship
Markette Sheppard | Charly Palmer | Millner/Simon & Schuster BYR | 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
4. Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman’s Dreams Took Flight
Karyn Parsons | R. Gregory Christie | Little, Brown BYR | 2020 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
5. Mae Among the Stars
Roda Ahmed | Stasia Burrington | HarperCollins | 2018 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
6. Wind Flyers
Angela Johnson | Loren Long | Simon & Schuster BYR | 2007 | Amazon | Bookshop
7. Joe-Joe’s First Flight
Natasha Anastasia Tarpley | E. B. Lewis | Knopf BYR | 2003 | PB | Amazon
8. Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman
Nikki Grimes | E. B. Lewis | Orchard Books | 2002 | PB | Amazon | Bookshop
9. Blast Off!: Abby in Orbit (Bk. 1)
Andrea J. Loney | Fuuji Takashi | Albert Whitman | 2022 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop
10. Exploring Flight! (Ada Twist, Scientist: The Why Files #1) (The Questioneers)
Andrea Beaty | Dr. Theanne Griffith | David Roberts | Harry N. Abrams | 2021 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop
11. Calvin Spann: Daring Fighter Pilot
Ph.D. Harris, Duchess | Samantha S. Bell | Core Library | 2019 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop
12. Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen? (Who Was?)
Sherri L. Smith | Who HQ | Jake Murray | Penguin Workshop | 2018 | Chp Bk | Amazon | Bookshop
13. Unlawful Orders: A Portrait of Dr. James B. Williams, Tuskegee Airman, Surgeon, and Activist
Barbara Binns | Scholastic Focus | 2022 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
14. Segregated Skies: One Pilot’s Trailblazing Journey to Rise Above Racial Barriers
Michael H. Cottman | National Geographic Kids | 2021 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
15. You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen
Carole Boston Weatherford | Jeffery Boston Weatherford | Atheneum BYR | 2016 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
16. Chasing Space Young Readers’ Edition
Leland Melvin | Amistad BYR | 2017 | MG | Amazon | Bookshop
17. Black Eagles: African Americans in Aviation
James Haskins | Scholastic Paperbacks | 1997 | MG | Amazon
18. Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life
Dr. Mae Jemison | Signal Hill Road Publishing | 2021 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
19. Flygirl
Sherri L. Smith | Penguin Books | 2010 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
20. American Ace
Marilyn Nelson | Rocky Pond Books | 2016 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop
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