Brave Harriet: The First Woman to Fly the English Channel by Marissa Moss is a picture book biography of Harriet Quimby, the first women to fly from England to France.

Harriet from the earliest days of the airplane, realized she wanted to be a part of the action. She was the first American woman to receive pilot's license, despite being forced to go through more hurdles than her male counterparts.

This book though, is primarily about her flight across the English channel. The flight was dangerous for anyone making it, in the days of open air planes and low air speeds and no instrumentation for flying in bad weather. But the men helping her set up this flight wanted her to cheat, and send a man in disguise her place! She didn't agree to such a ridiculous plan and history was made.

I read this book at the insistence of my daughter, also named Harriet. She sees all other Harriets as some sort of extension of herself. Being named Harriet is a call to be brave, to be a hero, to be adventurous. ( )

This was another great book on Harriet Quimby, though this one is far more concentrated on the crossing of the English Channel. You might compare it with Robert Burleigh's Night Flight or Flight concerning Amelia Earhart's and Charles Lindbergh's crossing of the Atlantic or Don Brown's Ruth Law Thrills a Nation concerning her travels from Chicago to New York. They are all excellent stories. I really liked the illustrations in this one. ( )

Harriet Quimby flew solo over the English Channel in 1912 and as such was the first woman to do so. A pioneer aviator she broke the barriers placed before her by well meaning friends and fellow aviators because the challenge called her. Beautifully illustrated and concise this book tells of the dangers of early flying. ( )

I read this during my Steven’s Elementary library visit and the students voted they liked it. They had a lot of questions about the aeroplane and you can do a fun British accent

810L,GRL P,GL 4.4,AR 4.5,2 copies