Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee

An intimate first-person narrative carries this story of Gee, who, as a child, dreamed of becoming a pilot, and went on to become one of just two Chinese-Americans in the Women Airforce Service Pilots. Radiant acrylic and colored pencil illustrations convey Maggie’s desire to take to the sky, as well as her cultural heritage. While serving, Gee is once even mistaken for an enemy pilot (“I felt like an exhibit at the county fair... the amazing Chinese American WASP”), and the book ends with her plane soaring above sherbet clouds: “Now I tell these stories to my children and grandchildren, and my tales must seem as far away to them as China.” A triumphant story of determination. Ages 9–12. (Aug.)