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Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming, Jessica Hische
referencegrrrl's review against another edition
4.0
This is more than a dry “here’s the life of Amelia Earhart” story. If you want to know what she was like, what she was really like, you’ll find it here. She was a girl with a dream and penchant for adventure. And while she and her husband were brilliant publicists, it turns out she wasn’t very good at planning.
It starts out telling how a ship was waiting to direct Amelia to the island where they built a short runway and a place for her to refuel before the last leg of her trip around the world. The island was tiny, a mere 2 miles long and a half a mile wide, so they employed beacons of light at night and billowing smoke from the ship during the day to signal her. After some attempts to contact her failed, they heard Amelia report “Partly cloudy” over her radio, and then she reported through some static that she was 100 miles out. The radiomen on board the ship desperately tried to locate her. But at 8:45 am, they heard Amelia’s last frantic radio transmission alerting the crew to her location. She should have been right over the island, but they had no sight of her. Then, in the radio room, the crew heard nothing but “the mournful sound of that static.”
Then we are taken back to Amelia’s childhood, where she tried explaining her love of airplanes, and “of liking all kinds of sports and games and not being afraid to try those that, back then, were looked upon as being only for boys.” She said there was something inside her that always liked to try new things.
Infused with many quotes from Amelia herself, we feel like Amelia herself could have written this book for us. We learn about her best friends, her school life (there’s even a photo of one of her report cards!). We learn how her family visited the World’s Fair in 1905, where her mother wouldn’t allow Amelia to ride the roller coaster, declaring it too dangerous for a young girl. Did that stop her? No! Amelia returned home and built her own coaster in the yard, with wooden boards and baby buggy wheels.
Interspersed throughout the stories of Amelia’s childhood years, we hear stories of her last flight, and the strange radio signals received by folks across America, starting with Mabel, a homemaker in Texas, who was listening to an overseas radio program and claims to have heard Amelia’s distress signals over the airwaves.
We learn about how Amelia just knew she had to fly; we meet her flying instructor who charged a dollar a minute for the lessons. Amelia was strong-headed and insisted she do things her own way, and in doing so, she made some dangerous mistakes, like not checking her fuel levels. She was also very much into looking the part of the pilot – in fact, after an early plane wreck caused by her own stubbornness, she crawled out the wreckage only to be seen powdering her nose so they could look nice if reporters arrived.
By the end of the story, we are on the edge of our seats during the search and rescue, and you are left thinking that somehow she will have been found and is the one telling us her tale. Thrilling, detailed, loads of personal stories from the people who knew her, and plenty of pictures to make us feel like we knew her, too.
It starts out telling how a ship was waiting to direct Amelia to the island where they built a short runway and a place for her to refuel before the last leg of her trip around the world. The island was tiny, a mere 2 miles long and a half a mile wide, so they employed beacons of light at night and billowing smoke from the ship during the day to signal her. After some attempts to contact her failed, they heard Amelia report “Partly cloudy” over her radio, and then she reported through some static that she was 100 miles out. The radiomen on board the ship desperately tried to locate her. But at 8:45 am, they heard Amelia’s last frantic radio transmission alerting the crew to her location. She should have been right over the island, but they had no sight of her. Then, in the radio room, the crew heard nothing but “the mournful sound of that static.”
Then we are taken back to Amelia’s childhood, where she tried explaining her love of airplanes, and “of liking all kinds of sports and games and not being afraid to try those that, back then, were looked upon as being only for boys.” She said there was something inside her that always liked to try new things.
Infused with many quotes from Amelia herself, we feel like Amelia herself could have written this book for us. We learn about her best friends, her school life (there’s even a photo of one of her report cards!). We learn how her family visited the World’s Fair in 1905, where her mother wouldn’t allow Amelia to ride the roller coaster, declaring it too dangerous for a young girl. Did that stop her? No! Amelia returned home and built her own coaster in the yard, with wooden boards and baby buggy wheels.
Interspersed throughout the stories of Amelia’s childhood years, we hear stories of her last flight, and the strange radio signals received by folks across America, starting with Mabel, a homemaker in Texas, who was listening to an overseas radio program and claims to have heard Amelia’s distress signals over the airwaves.
We learn about how Amelia just knew she had to fly; we meet her flying instructor who charged a dollar a minute for the lessons. Amelia was strong-headed and insisted she do things her own way, and in doing so, she made some dangerous mistakes, like not checking her fuel levels. She was also very much into looking the part of the pilot – in fact, after an early plane wreck caused by her own stubbornness, she crawled out the wreckage only to be seen powdering her nose so they could look nice if reporters arrived.
By the end of the story, we are on the edge of our seats during the search and rescue, and you are left thinking that somehow she will have been found and is the one telling us her tale. Thrilling, detailed, loads of personal stories from the people who knew her, and plenty of pictures to make us feel like we knew her, too.
tami_provencher's review against another edition
4.0
This short biography of Amelia Earhart is spectacularly done for 8-12 year old readers. It is a larger size than a typical novel and the print is large enough to read easily, while not intimidating potential readers. The biography itself sticks to basic facts withour a lot of speculation regarding her final flight. The stories of her childhood are interesting and facilitate the reader’s understanding of Amelia’s development in thought and action.
Part of the brilliance of this biography is that the story of Earhart’s life leading up to her final flight is punctuated by the story of her disappearance in the form of short blurbs containing both official and unofficial radio receptions of Amelia Earhart in July, 1937. This technique breaks the information into smaller chunks, making them easier to process and organize whether you are reading for enjoyment, information or as an assignment.
If you are looking for a source in a biographical study or report this is a terrific choice. If, like me, you find Amelia Earhart to be an interesting historical figure (for both women and aviation) it is an excellent read. I learned that Earhart actually went to high school for a couple years in St. Paul, MN (where I live). This is new–and I have to admit kind of exciting–information for me!
If you are looking for quality nonfiction Candace Fleming’s biography of Amelia Earhart is dynamite and I highly recommend it!
Part of the brilliance of this biography is that the story of Earhart’s life leading up to her final flight is punctuated by the story of her disappearance in the form of short blurbs containing both official and unofficial radio receptions of Amelia Earhart in July, 1937. This technique breaks the information into smaller chunks, making them easier to process and organize whether you are reading for enjoyment, information or as an assignment.
If you are looking for a source in a biographical study or report this is a terrific choice. If, like me, you find Amelia Earhart to be an interesting historical figure (for both women and aviation) it is an excellent read. I learned that Earhart actually went to high school for a couple years in St. Paul, MN (where I live). This is new–and I have to admit kind of exciting–information for me!
If you are looking for quality nonfiction Candace Fleming’s biography of Amelia Earhart is dynamite and I highly recommend it!
kathydubs's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this telling of Earhart's tale. Hopping back and forth between telling her life story chronologically and the search for Earhart and Noonan, this book gives a really great picture of who Amelia was and why she was so intent on taking this trip around the world. I learned a ton about Amelia that I didn't know before and got a sense of who she was through the way this book was organized. Not gonna lie, the end also made me so sad (which is to be expected) but I thought the way Fleming wrapped it up helped lift the somber note a bit.
caryleliza's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating! I loved the way the author told Amelia's story, alternating between chapters about her history (starting with her birth) and sections about when she went missing and the search for her. A page-turner, even though you know how the story turns out.
literallytara's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to read this because it's on the Mock Newbery shortlist over at School Library Journal's Heavy Medal blog. Nina has this in her top three, so I couldn't pass it over.
This one reminded me of The Watch That Ends The Night because they were very similar in structure. Both take the narrative of the event (the voyage of the Titanic and the life of Amelia Earhart) and frame each chapter with passages about the aftermath of the event. In the case of Amelia Earhart, the story begins with Amelia not showing up for her scheduled refueling stop at tiny Howland Island. The next chapters begin with Amelia's birth and tell her life story, but each opens with the continued questions and search attempts surrounding her disappearance.
Though the book is short (only 128 pages), it is very thorough. I learned more about Amelia Earhart than I expected. By the end I realized that I didn't really like her. Sure, she did some interesting things to convince women to pursue their dreams and she was an inspiration to girls for generations. However, I got the sense from the story that she was a bit self-absorbed, reckless, and actively created her own media limelight. I was surprised to learn that she was married, though it appeared that Mr. Putnam loved her a bit more than she loved him. Amelia's one love was flying, and she died doing what she loved. Before reading this book I don't think I realized quite how dangerous flying was in the 1920's and 30's. If nothing else, Amelia was a very brave woman.
Do not look for this book to answer any questions about what MIGHT have happened to Earhart. This is not a book of speculations -- it's just the facts, ma'am. There is great bibliographical information in the back, as well as an introduction by Fleming that reminds readers, "Sometimes it's hard to tell fact from fiction." Amelia's story is part legend and myth and part truth, but sometimes separating the two is difficult. This same principal applies to her disappearance, as much as I would LOVE to know what actually happened to her.
Final Grade: C It was okay. Non-fiction is sort of hit-or-miss, and it's highly subjective. In this case, the subject just didn't interest me -- even though it ended up being more interesting than I thought. I will admit that my expertise in non-fiction is limited, so I can't quite say if it it well-written enough to win the Newbery. Everyone else seems to think it is, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Do look for it to pick up at least an honor medal next week when the results are announced.
My students would possibly pick this up because of the mystery surrounding Earhart (they love stuff like that), but I would probably have to put it on a display or a list. I doubt they'd wander over to the 921's and just pick it. Our seventh graders are about to start a biography project, so I'm sure they'll show it some love for that.
This one reminded me of The Watch That Ends The Night because they were very similar in structure. Both take the narrative of the event (the voyage of the Titanic and the life of Amelia Earhart) and frame each chapter with passages about the aftermath of the event. In the case of Amelia Earhart, the story begins with Amelia not showing up for her scheduled refueling stop at tiny Howland Island. The next chapters begin with Amelia's birth and tell her life story, but each opens with the continued questions and search attempts surrounding her disappearance.
Though the book is short (only 128 pages), it is very thorough. I learned more about Amelia Earhart than I expected. By the end I realized that I didn't really like her. Sure, she did some interesting things to convince women to pursue their dreams and she was an inspiration to girls for generations. However, I got the sense from the story that she was a bit self-absorbed, reckless, and actively created her own media limelight. I was surprised to learn that she was married, though it appeared that Mr. Putnam loved her a bit more than she loved him. Amelia's one love was flying, and she died doing what she loved. Before reading this book I don't think I realized quite how dangerous flying was in the 1920's and 30's. If nothing else, Amelia was a very brave woman.
Do not look for this book to answer any questions about what MIGHT have happened to Earhart. This is not a book of speculations -- it's just the facts, ma'am. There is great bibliographical information in the back, as well as an introduction by Fleming that reminds readers, "Sometimes it's hard to tell fact from fiction." Amelia's story is part legend and myth and part truth, but sometimes separating the two is difficult. This same principal applies to her disappearance, as much as I would LOVE to know what actually happened to her.
Final Grade: C It was okay. Non-fiction is sort of hit-or-miss, and it's highly subjective. In this case, the subject just didn't interest me -- even though it ended up being more interesting than I thought. I will admit that my expertise in non-fiction is limited, so I can't quite say if it it well-written enough to win the Newbery. Everyone else seems to think it is, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Do look for it to pick up at least an honor medal next week when the results are announced.
My students would possibly pick this up because of the mystery surrounding Earhart (they love stuff like that), but I would probably have to put it on a display or a list. I doubt they'd wander over to the 921's and just pick it. Our seventh graders are about to start a biography project, so I'm sure they'll show it some love for that.
pkadams's review against another edition
4.0
The innovative structure and captivating beginning make this biography a worthy read. It combined a traditional children's biography with the dramatization of the final hours and the documentary style of explaining various aspects of culture, technology, etc. in text boxes. The dramatization drew in the reader beautifully. I can see it capturing children. I also loved how Fleming showed the "branding" aspects of Amelia and was even handed with some of her more ruthless actions. Despite having written a biography on Amelia Earhart when I was a child, I learned a lot from this book. There were some great websites and other tie ins as well.
This story, though fascinating and innovative, doesn't have the same depth or illuminate the fortitude of the hero as clearly that Latham was able to convey in Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (a children's biography that won the Newbery Medal). I'm thinking this book will receive an honor, but not the medal.
corncobwebs's review against another edition
It is impossible to gauge how much Amelia's life inspired the generations of women who came after her. At a time when women felt limited to the roles of wife and mother, she encouraged them to challenge themselves and seize their dreams. And she did it with zest, boldness and courage.
Amelia Earhart was not afraid of death. She had said so many times. A paragraph from a letter she left behind in case she did not return home from her world flight proved that. She wrote:
"Please know I am quite aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others."
This was an outstanding, absorbing read. It was a very even account of Earhart's persona, addressing not only Amelia Earhart the hero, but also Amelia Earhart the savvy businesswomen. It hadn't occurred to me before that Earhart might be pursuing flight records for financial gain and personal notoriety, but I think those motives were definitely a part of her personal makeup. When someone dies young in a tragedy, the public tends to overlook these things. Does that make her less heroic, less influential? I guess that's up for debate. I do have mixed feelings about how she was trying to set various flight records in the midst of the Great Depression. Most people were really struggling, but she was pursuing something that was comparatively frivolous.
Even so, I think the above quote holds true. All criticisms aside, Earhart was a courageous pioneer who showed women that they could be and do more than what was expected of them. She's also a great example of how to press ahead even when you're terrified -- she had to fly in some really scary conditions (including her plane being on fire), and she always kept her cool and made it through to the other side. Well, except for that last time, of course.
When I was a kid, I always had this conception that when I died, I would instantaneously know all the secrets of the world. I have no idea what really happens when we die, but it would be so awesome if this were the case -- then I would know what really happened to Amelia Earhart. Things to look forward to, right?? Unless death is nothingness -- then I'm screwed. But at least now I know the word "aviatrix," which I think is the best word ever.
Amelia Earhart was not afraid of death. She had said so many times. A paragraph from a letter she left behind in case she did not return home from her world flight proved that. She wrote:
"Please know I am quite aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others."
This was an outstanding, absorbing read. It was a very even account of Earhart's persona, addressing not only Amelia Earhart the hero, but also Amelia Earhart the savvy businesswomen. It hadn't occurred to me before that Earhart might be pursuing flight records for financial gain and personal notoriety, but I think those motives were definitely a part of her personal makeup. When someone dies young in a tragedy, the public tends to overlook these things. Does that make her less heroic, less influential? I guess that's up for debate. I do have mixed feelings about how she was trying to set various flight records in the midst of the Great Depression. Most people were really struggling, but she was pursuing something that was comparatively frivolous.
Even so, I think the above quote holds true. All criticisms aside, Earhart was a courageous pioneer who showed women that they could be and do more than what was expected of them. She's also a great example of how to press ahead even when you're terrified -- she had to fly in some really scary conditions (including her plane being on fire), and she always kept her cool and made it through to the other side. Well, except for that last time, of course.
When I was a kid, I always had this conception that when I died, I would instantaneously know all the secrets of the world. I have no idea what really happens when we die, but it would be so awesome if this were the case -- then I would know what really happened to Amelia Earhart. Things to look forward to, right?? Unless death is nothingness -- then I'm screwed. But at least now I know the word "aviatrix," which I think is the best word ever.
jldickison's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.75
booknerd67's review against another edition
5.0
I loved learning about the background story of Amelia Earhart. The marketing she and her husband did was impressive. Neat to go back to that time and think about what it must have been like to have airplanes be a new thing.