Pioneer aviator Blanche Stuart Scott once said of herself: “I always liked speed and I had a very good sense of balance.” She also had an ample dose of daring and indulgent parents who encouraged her to pursue her interests from an early age. She not only achieved a number of firsts that helped advance the art and science of flying, but also capably faced the constant barrage of social criticism — and even several assassination attempts — aimed at her as a woman in a male-dominated profession. Her sharp wit and spirited outlook are evident in the numerous direct quotes throughout Cummins’s meticulously researched and well-documented text. Scott’s aviation career, unfortunately, was grounded after a serious accident in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1913, which led to 41 broken bones and an eight-month recuperation. She went on to produce independent films and work as a screenwriter in Hollywood, returning to the air briefly in 1948 to set one more record as the first woman to fly a jet plane. The author did make several unfortunate generalized statements about the role of women in society in the text, stating, for example, that few women worked in the era when Scott was a young woman. Of course there were thousands of working women, but few of them were in Scott’s privileged economic class. Still, this compelling biography of a courageous, independent, and intelligent woman will no doubt leave you wondering why Blanche Stuart Scott isn’t a household name. (Ages 8–12)

While American women were fighting for their right to vote, Blanche Stuart Scott asserted her right to fly. She had always been a daredevil and couldn't resist the temptation of traveling at incredible speeds and heights. So despite the dangers associated with early flight, public disapproval, and the forbidding attitude of men, Blanche took to the air. She became the first woman to fly a plane in public in America.

After Blanche's launch into aviation, other women surpassed her feats by flying solo across the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean -- and even racing through space. But the contributions Blanche made were significant. Julie Cummins's engaging biography celebrates an aviation pioneer whose spunky, courageous personality helped her successors' dreams take flight.