Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman

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Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman was written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by two people, they are Barry Moser and Earl B. Lewis. It was published by Orchard Books in November 1st 2002, but the first publication was made in January 1st 1998. This book has 48 pages and it won literary awards Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustrator Award and Author Honor in 2003. [1]

Earl B. Lewis as the illustrator of this book, won a Caldecott Honor for Coming On Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson. He has also won the Coretta Scott King Award and Coretta Scott King Honor three times. He graduated from Temple University's Tyler School of Art and now teaches at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Mr Lewis lives in Folsom, New Jersey. [2]

Summary

Soar along with Bessie Coleman in this inspirational tale of a woman whose determination reached new heights.

Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman was always being told what she could & couldn't do. In an era when Jim Crow laws and segregation were a way of life, it was not easy to survive. Bessie didn't let that stop her. Although she was only 11 when the Wright brothers took their historic flight, she vowed to become the first African -American female pilot. Her sturdy faith and determination helped her overcome obstacles of poverty, racism, and gender discrimination. Innovatively told through a series of monologues. [2]

Pros

A reader named Elizabeth rated this book four stars because Talkin’ About Bessie uses a series of “interviews” to tell the story of Bessie Coleman, an African-American aviatrix from the early 1900’s, when few women and fewer African American men or women flew airplanes. Each page spread contains a beautiful watercolor illustration y E. B. Lewis, and a brief “interview” of someone’s recollections of Bessie at various points in her life. Through the words of parents, teachers, siblings, flight instructors, laundry customers and pastors, we learn details about Bessie’s life, her determined personality and the many obstacles she overcame in order to realize her dream of flying. Other reader named Toneeshia thought this book deserved five stars, because Talkin About Bessie is a biography for primary aged children. It won the 2003 Coretta Scott King Illustrator award and the 2003 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book. This book is about aviator Elizabeth Coleman who decided to become an aviator after her older brother John Coleman teased that. African. American women would never fly and eventually she taught others. The story is told from the point of view of those who knew her primarily family. The language used tells the era, it also tells the type of education the person speaking has. It also takes a fictional approach to telling Elizabeth's biography. The theme of the book is Elizabeth never took no for an answer and did whatever she had to do to accomplish goals set forth for her. The illustrations contain a combination of art styles, realistic and impressionistic. The illustrations show Elizabeth at the age they are talking about. [1]

Bessie Coleman. Bessie Coleman. Well, Bessie Coleman, the "Queen of the Air", was the first African-American to obtain a pilot's license, and the first American of any race or gender to get an international pilot's license. This was necessary because black aviators wouldn't teach a woman, and white flight schools wouldn't take a black student and she did it a few years before Earheart as well. [3]

Library Thing's members also dropped their comments about this book on their site. They explained that this was a story about Bessie Coleman told through the eyes of friends and family each page having a different narrator. This story has great details about Bessie's life and is told in such an interesting way by incorporating all the different points of views of her friends and family. This was a great read with a lot of information and the illustrations are really beautiful. The life of the famous Bessie Coleman, the first black woman to fly a plane. Bessie was determined to make something of herself. She knew that life was about more than picking cotton and doing people’s laundry. Everyone that came in contact with Bessie knew she was made to be great. The inspirational story of Bessie Coleman, the first African-American / Native American to earn her pilot’s license. Bessie, who was eleven when the Wright Brothers made their first flight, went to France to earn her pilot’s license and played a pioneering role for early pilots, inspiring both African-American and Native American peoples. it was Innovatively told through a series of monologues, each accompanied by a full-page illustration, the book provides background on Bessie, recounts her accomplishments, and provides Internet resources for further information, it was very recommended for the children. The author portrays the life of Elizabeth coleman through poems told by people in Bessie's life: siblings, teacher, mother, aviation instructor and classmates, and black community leaders. Bessie was an independent spirit with can-do strength which led her to become the first black female pilot. [4]

References