American Wings

From the acclaimed author of Flygirl and the bestselling author of Code Name Verity comes the thrilling and inspiring true story of the desegregation of the skies. 

In the years between World War I and World War II, aviation fever was everywhere, including among Black Americans. But what hope did a Black person have of learning to fly in a country constricted by prejudice and Jim Crow laws, where some previous Black aviators like Bessie Coleman had to move to France to earn their wings?

American Wings follows a group of determined Black Americans: Cornelius Coffey and Johnny Robinson, skilled auto mechanics; Janet Harmon Bragg, a nurse; and Willa Brown, a teacher and social worker. Together, they created a flying club and built their own airfield on Chicago's South Side. As the U.S. hurtled toward World War II, they established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together and proving, in a time when the U.S. military was still segregated, that successful integration was possible.

Complete with black-and-white photographs throughout, American Wings brings to light a hidden history of pioneering Black men and women who, with grit and resilience, battled powerful odds for an equal share of the sky.

Sherri L. Smith is the author of nine award-winning books for young people, including the 2009 California Book Awards Gold Medalist, Flygirl,—a World War II adventure the Washington Post named a best book of the year. Her middle grade historical fantasy The Toymaker’s Apprentice, and her contemporary YA noir mystery, Pasadena, are both winners of the Southern California Independent Booksellers Award. Her nonfiction book Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen? is part of the NY Times bestselling Who Was? series. Her novels appear on multiple state reading lists and have been named Amelia Bloomer, Junior Library Guild, Children's Book Council, and American Library Association Best Books for Young People selections. She is also the recipient of the Elizabeth George Foundation Award and the University of Kansas Alyce Hunley Whayne Visiting Researchers Travel Award. Sherri was a judge for the 2014 National Book Awards in Young People’s Literature and has been a writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook, the Wellstone Center, and Wassard Elea. She’s worked in comic books (The Simpsons, James Cameron's AVATAR), animation (Disney, Tim Burton) construction (at LAX!), and make up special effects (Grimm). Sherri currently teaches in the MFA Writing Program at Goddard College and the MFA in Children’s Writing Program at Hamline University. She returns to World War II with her newest novel, The Blossom and the Firefly, which tells the moving story of two Japanese teens— one a kamikaze pilot, the other a schoolgirl who serves on the base from which he will fly his final mission. Learn more at www.sherrilsmith.com