Biography - Who Was Amelia Earhart? by Kate Boehm Jerome

Amelia Earhart is an icon who almost every child will learn about or already knows about, making Who Was Amelia Earhart by Kate Boehm a great book for everyone to read. This book falls into the genre of biography, and presents a fun and interesting way to learn about the first woman who flew across the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, but disappeared in a mysterious manner during her around-the-world flight in 1937 (Boehm Jerome, 2002). 

The book presents facts surrounding Amelia's life following from her as a youth, her character, career, etc. as well as outlining her life beginning in 1897 to her disappearance in 1937, while also providing a world timeline so that the reader can place Amelia's life events during well known events like women getting the right to vote via the 19th Amendment in 1920 (Boehm Jerome, 2002, pg. 105). 

When considering quality in a biography, the book presents accurate facts while presenting a vivid picture of her life and the time she lived, linking her accomplishments in the story. The character is well developed and multidimensional without being stereotyped, and the style of writing is complex but engaging to the readers. The unifying theme presented in the book highlights Amelia's special qualities, all of which provide a good quality biography (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, pg. 288).

The illustrator, David Cain, artistically drew black and white sketches throughout the book to add visual aid to the story, while keeping the designs basic and simplistic for readers. The only color illustration is the cover, which is visually striking, yet does not take away from the quality of the biography.

For readers of this book, the response-centered project ideas could really open readers to a very creative way of exploring the world of Amelia Earhart. The first project would be a character scrapbook, to which the individuals could make a scrapbook of Amelia's accomplishments, and they could include things like postcards, ticket stubs, or small items from all of the locations that she went to. Secondly, they could do a newspaper about a day during the life of Amelia, ranging from her accomplishments of flying across the Atlantic or Pacific, or even about the day she disappeared. They could write editorials, advertisements for airplanes, etc. in order to capture that particular day (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe, 2010, pg 351). 

Questions for readers would include asking them, "What is the books theme?", "What did you learn from Amelia's story?", and "What do you think happened to Amelia?".

In keeping with Saint Leo's core value of Respect, "Animated in the spirit of Jesus Christ, we value all individuals’ unique talents, respect their dignity, and strive to foster their commitment to excellence in our work. Our community’s strength depends on the unity and diversity of our people, on the free exchange of ideas, and on learning, living, and working harmoniously" (Saint Leo University, 2013), this book and associated activities assist in aligning with respect for female pilots, women in general; and the courage and strength needed to accomplish great goals. 

References

Boehm Jerome, K. (2002). Who Was Amelia Earhart? New York: Grosset & Dunlap.

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the Child. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth       Cenage Learning.

Saint Leo University. (2013). Core Values at Saint Leo: The First Florida Catholic University. Retrieved Jul 14, 2013, from http://www.saintleo.edu/about/florida-catholic-university.aspx