The Jerrie Mock Story: The First Woman to Fly Solo around the World

by Nancy Roe Pimm

Overview

A Junior Library Guild selection
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Official 2016 Summer Reading List

In this biography for middle-grade readers, Nancy Roe Pimm tells the story of Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world. In her trusty Cessna, The Spirit of Columbus-also known as Charlie-she traveled from Columbus, Ohio, on an eastward route that totaled nearly twenty-three thousand miles and took almost a month. Overcoming wind, ice, mechanical problems, and maybe even sabotage, Mock persevered.

Mock caught the aviation bug at seven years old, when she rode in a Ford Trimotor plane with her parents. In high school, she displayed a talent for math and science, and she was the only woman in her aeronautical engineering classes at Ohio State University. Although she then settled into domestic life, she never lost her interest in flying. What began as a joking suggestion from her husband to fly around the world prompted her to pursue her childhood dream. But the dream became a race, as another woman, Joan Merriam Smith, also sought to be the first to circle the globe.

Even though Mock beat Smith and accomplished what her heroine Amelia Earhart had died trying to do, her feat was overshadowed by the Vietnam War and other world events. Now, Pimm introduces Mock to a new generation of adventurers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780821422168
Publisher:	Ohio University Press
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Series:	Biographies for Young Readers
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	1020L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 12 Years

About the Author

Nancy Roe Pimm is an award-winning author of nonfiction books for young readers, five of which have been Junior Library Guild selections. Smoky, the Dog That Saved My Life is her second book (after The Jerrie Mock Story) for Ohio University Press's Biographies for Young Readers series. A native of Brooklyn, New York, with three daughters and two grandsons, Nancy lives in Plain City, Ohio, with her retired race-car driver husband, their two dogs, two cats, and python named Monty.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Circumnavigating the Globe

Flight 1 March 19, 1964 3

Flight 2 Early Years and Chasing Dreams 14

Flight 3 Bermuda Bound 27

Flight 4 Santa Maria 35

Flight 5 Casablanca 42

Flight 6 Nigeria and Libya 49

Flight 7 Egypt and Saudi Arabia 57

Flight 8 Pakistan and India 65

Flight 9 Thailand and the Philippines 73

Flight 10 Guam, Wake Island, and Hawaii 82

Flight 11 Home! 93

Flight 12 Supersonic lets and Record-Breaking Streaks 103

Blue Skies Always

Jerrie's Timeline 117

Jerrie's Achievements & Awards 119

Glossary 121

Acknowledgments 125

Notes 127

Bibliography 133

Editorial Reviews

"Nancy Roe Pimm's book makes me feel as though I am visiting with Jerrie again--every detail is there, just as Jerrie shared it with me. Jerrie was a gracious and competent American woman and an unexpected hero who gave closure to Amelia Earhart's quest. The personal story of our last tie to the golden age of aviation is beautifully presented."--Jill Nelson, retired U.S. Navy pilot and friend of Jerrie Mock

"Nancy Roe Pimm has captured Jerrie's essence and her voice. She shows my sister's passion for flying and for life. I'm thrilled to know her story will be shared with future generations, so they too will believe in their dreams as they get to know Jerrie, a true American hero."--Susan Reid, Jerrie Mock's younger sister

"Plentifully illustrated with photographs and copies of her passport and flight documents, this is an interesting snap shot of an accomplishment about which not enough people know."--Ms. Yingling Reads

"This is a high-interest biography of a woman who is less of a household name than her idol, Amelia Earhart, but no less gutsy and accomplished."--Booklist

"This often hair-raising tale not only rescues a major aeronautical feat from near-total obscurity, but presents an eye-opening picture of another era's gender roles and expectations."--Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2016-01-09
Quick, name the first woman to fly solo around the world! Bet you can't. Spun from interviews with the pilot herself (who died in 2014) and family members, plus a 1970 autobiographical account, this often-hair-raising tale not only rescues a major aeronautical feat from near-total obscurity, but presents an eye-opening picture of another era's gender roles and expectations. Mock faced hazards including high winds, icing, mental exhaustion, and a dead radio on the monthlong 1964 flight. The (as a local newspaper put it) "petite Bexley housewife and mother" also attended to proper dress and shoes along the way. As Pimm describes it, she also had to put up with a controlling husband, who comes across as a real toad by continually urging her to cut out the sightseeing and unilaterally canceling planned tributes in Hawaii to speed her along; he also wasn't above emotional blackmail: "no word from you all day after landing in Tripoli," reads a telegram. "Your mother in tears. Love, Russ." Tedious minor details and irrelevant sidebars make the flight a rough one, but readers will walk away afterward appreciating the magnitude of Mock's accomplishment—and, with help from the broad array of snapshots, news photos, and personal documents, of her spirit and character, too. Loosely knit but notable both for the journey it commemorates and its view of a time's parochial attitudes. (timeline, endnotes, glossary, reading lists) (Biography. 11-14)

Kirkus Reviews