Reviews for Joe-Joe's first flight

The average rating for Joe-Joe's first flight based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-06-22 00:00:00 Carl Adamo In the small town of Blind Eye, it’s 1922, segregation is commonplace, and the airport workers [known as the All-Original Flying Men] who dream of flying have lost hope in the meaningless promise of “in due time” whenever they ask when it will be their turn to fly. Joe-Joe’s father is one of the All-Original Flying Men; his sparkly gold wings, given to him when he went to work at the airport, seem like a miniature star in Joe-Joe’s hand. Inspired, he makes a wish . . . and one magical night his wish comes true. The charming watercolor illustrations accompanying this touching tale of a young boy’s dream are magical. But the book is bit of a mish-mash, part historical, part reality, part fantasy. Readers are certain to empathize with the All-Original Flying Men although it’s unclear whether the promise made to the men was for an opportunity to fly in the planes they serviced or if it was to have the opportunity to become pilots. Whatever the promise, the story makes it clear that the unfulfilled promise was the reason the men lost hope. There is a great deal of text in this book; skilled independent readers may be able to read Joe-Joe’s story without difficulty, but younger readers are not likely to be able to navigate this much text independently. With a Lexile rating of 580 [fourth/fifth grade], this picture book is classified as Adult Directed, meaning the book is designed for an adult to read to the child. Parents who read this story with their child will find the book easily serves as a springboard for an important discussion on the unfairness of segregation, the narrow-mindedness and bigotry of discrimination, and the vital importance of honoring your word. The Author’s Note following the story provides some historical background regarding African Americans in aviation. Recommended.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-05-15 00:00:00 Tashia Barnes Watercolor illustrations that capture the wonder of flight and the excitement of the first years of man''s powered flight are tempered by the reality of being barred from flying simply because of the color of one's skin.