You Can Fly
The Tuskegee Airmen
Table of Contents
About The Book
I WANT YOU! says the poster of Uncle Sam. But if you’re a young black man in 1940, he doesn’t want you in the cockpit of a war plane. Yet you are determined not to let that stop your dream of flying.
So when you hear of a civilian pilot training program at Tuskegee Institute, you leap at the chance. Soon you are learning engineering and mechanics, how to communicate in code, how to read a map. At last the day you’ve longed for is here: you are flying!
From training days in Alabama to combat on the front lines in Europe, this is the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the groundbreaking African-American pilots of World War II. In vibrant second-person poems, Carole Boston Weatherford teams up for the first time with her son, artist Jeffery Weatherford, in a powerful and inspiring book that allows readers to fly, too.
About The Illustrator
Jeffery Boston Weatherford is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and a performance poet. He has lectured, performed, and led art and writing workshops in the US, the Middle East, and West Africa. Jeffery was a Romare Bearden Scholar at Howard University, where he earned an MFA in painting and studied under members of the Black Arts Movement collective AfriCobra. A North Carolina native and resident, Jeffery has exhibited his art in North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. Visit him at CBWeatherford.com.
Product Details
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (May 3, 2016)
- Length: 128 pages
- ISBN13: 9781481449403
- Ages: 9 - 12
- Lexile ® 910L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®
Raves and Reviews
*“Weatherford again wields the power of poetry to tell a gripping historical story, reinforced by dramatically shaded scratchboard illustrations by her son, making a notable debut.”
– Publishers Weekly, starred review
* “Weatherford’s skill with language provides clear voices for the trainees, and cultural specifics provide additional texture and deepen understanding of the young men. A masterful, inspiring evocation of an era.”
– Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“The narrative voice draws readers into the action, addressing them directly and inviting them to imagine themselves into this ground-breaking role . . . this title is particularly well adapted to classroom use, where language arts and history students can share common air space.”
– BCCB
"This book sheds light on the Tuskegee Airmen through stories filled with authentic voices and hard truths. For those who already know of the Airmen’s accomplishments, the book offers a more personal connection to the men and their ideas and feelings through poems . . . which demonstrate that despite their proven skill and heroism, the aviators were still denied acceptance and respect."
– School Library Journal
“Weatherford’s informative, evocative poems follow the Airmen from the early vision . . . to the flyers’ experiences at home and abroad, with poems about Joe Louis and Lena Horne reminding us that the Airmen were also fighting another war in this country—against prejudice.”
– Horn Book - July/August 2016
"This volume offers a vivid, personal point of view. A welcome addition to traditional books on the Tuskegee Airmen."
– Booklist - April 1, 2015
Awards and Honors
- ALA Notable Children's Books
- CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
- Great Lakes Great Books Master List (MI)
- Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year Selection Title
- NCTE Notable Poetry List
- New York Public Library Best Books for Kids
- NCTE Notable Verse Novel List
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): You Can Fly eBook 9781481449403
- Author Photo (jpg): Carole Boston Weatherford Photograph © Carole Boston Weatherford(0.1 MB)
Any use of an author photo must include its respective photo credit