Customer Reviews

Talkin' About Bessie

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is an unusual, thought-provoking means of telling the story of Bessie Coleman's life. Written in free verse, Bessie's story is told by the people who attend her funeral, her family, friends, and acquaintances. Each voice is intriguing, weaving a complex tapestry of this noteworthy woman's life. Teachers and dramatists take note--what a great book to use for reader's theatre or as a play. E.B. Lewis' illustrations are perfect for the book, setting the right tone for each voice, and his portraits of each speaker bring them alive, talking to us as though we were there at the memorial service. I'm giving this as a gift to several children I know!

The story is an inspiring recollections of the life of Bessie Coleman. The author did a wonderful job describing Ms. Coleman using the fictionalized points of view of who knew her. This is an inspiring story of a young girl who would let nothing stand in the way of her dreams.

Beautiful testimonial to this incredible woman. This was presented almost as though it was a eulogy and the author made it work incredibly well. Although the author does make it clear that the "voices, styles of speech and characterizations were imaginary devices used to bring Bessie's true story to life", it provides the reader a real sense of Ms. Coleman's bravery and determination to rise about her circumstances. I gained an deep appreciation for this remarkable woman.

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, so what was she to do but go overseas?) And she did it a few years before Earheart as well.

I had picked up another book about her, Nobody Owns the Sky, but that book was so abysmally bad that I gave it away as soon as I could. It's told in a trite, cloying rhyme. Ugh. So I thought I'd try this book instead.

This book is very well-written. You can really get a feel for Bessie's personality, and she's not portrayed as a saintly individual we should all admire because she did everything right. No, she fought to earn every penny as a child picking cotton (even resorting to tampering with the scale if she could get away with it), and she ran away from hard drudgery as fast and as soon as she could, becoming a pilot in part to avoid having to spend any more of her life doing other people's laundry or buffing their nails. She worked hard only as much as she needed to, and not as a goal in and of itself. (And it's just as well. If she'd applied herself to picking cotton or doing laundry instead of learning to fly to get away from that life, well, we would have no book to read.)

The story isn't told straight-out, but through the fictionalized reminiscences of people who might have gathered to talk about her. As such, many of the memories are told in non-standard dialect. I don't know how accurate this dialect is. The author is clear at the front of the book that this story is not made of quotations or interviews, it's just a convenient and inviting way to share her information that she got through research.

The one thing I'm annoyed about with this book is that it's absolutely not suited for any form of read-aloud at all, and I'm still doing that with my nieces. It's too long. However, I expected that when I bought it.

Summary: This book tells the story of Bessie Coleman, the first female licensed pilot of African descent. Born in the South in 1892, she picks cotton and dreams of a better life. She knows that a good education will help her overcome obstacles and find success. Eager to learn as much as possible, Bessie studies hard. She is especially fond of math. Bessie moves to Chicago, and finds that the big city suits her. It is there that she discovers she would like to fly. She heads to France and becomes a pilot. To earn money, she becomes a barnstormer and performs dangerous aerobatics in the sky.

My Reaction: I liked that Bessie's story was told from the point of view of many different people in her life - family members, news reporters, teachers, classmates, field hands, and more. I enjoyed the unique voice given to each storyteller. From each perspective, I learned how Bessie's determination and faith helped her overcome poverty and discrimination and allowed her to pursue her dreams. An inspirational book!

Meet Elizabeth Coleman--the first African American woman to fly a plane. Coleman's story is told in a series of "interviews" starting from her childhood right up to her death. Her family talks about her education, her determination, and her unfailing dream to be more than just a field hand. Reporters talk about her as a pilot, and friends and fans talk about her courage and determination. In a time when skin color was a huge dividing line, Coleman managed to rise above it all, literally, in a plane. Her story is fascinating, and the style Nikki Grimes uses is readable, unique, and fitting for the tale. E.B. Lewis's pictures capture various aspects of Coleman's life--including details that the words opposite the picture don't mention. There is a note at the beginning of the book, and a note at the end, explaining more about Bessie Coleman and her life in the early 1900s. There also is a bibliography provided. This book won the Coretta Scott King award for 2003.

Aviator Bessie Coleman was the first African American woman to obtain a pilot's license. When taking into account the time this occurred, in the early part of the twentieth century, Ms. Coleman's accomplishment truly resonates.

The fictionalized account of Bessie's rise to glory is told by alternating voices of family and friends to those with whom she had a passing acquaintance. Most voices used an illiterate vernacular style that I found annoying ("She was jus' a chile then, spendin' happy days waterin' roses...")

Bessie seemed to have many negative qualities. She was dishonest about weighing cotton, putting extra weight on the scale. She was reportedly "allergic to elbow grease and manual labor." Yet her days were described as "endlessly tiresome". I am undecided as to whether this was good or bad - at least the author was attempting a true portrait. But I don't think that, had I known her, I would have gotten along with Bessie.

I did not understand why Bessie had to "pinch pennies to rent books from the library wagon". Did they force African Americans to pay to use the public library then?