Module 3: Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman

Module 3: Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman

Book Summary:

Talkin' About Bessie tells the story of Elizabeth Coleman, who became the first African-American female pilot. The story is told through a series of imagined anecdotes from a variety of people who would have known Bessie, ranging from members of her family to field hands to flight and school instructors. The stories and memories related by those that knew her give the reader a sense that they are getting to know what this woman was truly like and the actual impact her actions had on history.

APA Reference of Book:

Grimes, N. (2002). Talkin' about Bessie: The story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman. New York, NY: Orchard Books.

Impressions:

Talkin' About Bessie was far more compelling and interesting than I expected it to be. Usually I find biographical stories boring and tedious, just relaying the facts of life and great accomplishments in a nonfiction format. However, this story made you feel like you were at a funeral or celebration of life (in a good way, not a depressing way), all sharing stories and great memories about someone you had all known in some capacity. Each person shared a memory of something she had said or done, or some little quirk about her personality that had led her to make great strides for African-Americans in the aviation industry in a time where segregation and Jim Crow laws still heavily affected daily life.

I enjoyed the illustrations in the book as well. There was one accompanying each person's anecdote and they usually focused on one aspect of what the person was saying about Bessie. Some were particularly poignant such as the jelly jars full of pennies she saved to pay for her education and Bessie in the background hanging up laundry, really helping the reader understand how different life would have been for Bessie Coleman and what a struggle it was for her to gain the basic things many of us take for granted today.

Professional Review:

KIRKUS REVIEW

“Brave Bessie Coleman,” the first black woman in the world to earn a pilot’s license, has been the subject of several recent picture book biographies: (Fly, Bessie, Fly, by Lynn Joseph, 1998; Fly High!, by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger, 2001; Nobody Owns the Sky, by Reeve Lindbergh, 1996). Grimes takes an unusual, fictionalized approach to portraying this determined, undaunted woman who made aviation history. She recreates the voices of 20 people who supposedly knew Bessie, expressing their point of view in a free-verse format. Each double spread has the person’s monologue with his or her name or role running down the edge of the page with a cameo drawing like a photo at the top; opposite is a full-page illustration in Lewis’s typical style that strikingly adds dimension and context to the times and the woman. From her father, who left the large family in Texas, to sisters to flight instructor to news reporter to young fan, the monologue device succeeds somewhat in piecing together a portrait of this woman who braved hardships of both poverty and prejudice. Her dream was to open an aviation school for African-Americans, but a plane crash in 1926 ended her life at age 34. The handsome design, large format, and beautiful artwork make this very attractive, but the lack of source notes or clarification of what’s fictionalized—especially quotes—and the strange opening scene set at Bessie’s wake as she speaks to her mother from her photo on the mantel, will leave many readers confused. (Picture book. 8-10)

Talkin' about Bessie (2010). [Review of the book Talkin' about Bessie: The story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman, by N. Grimes]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from: http://www.kirkusreviews.com

Library Uses:

Make the book part of an event/program for children to learn about people who were pioneers for just about anything: occupations, women's rights, etc.

Use the book in a display in the children's area during February (Black History Month).