On the night of April 20, 1933, the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, entertained her friend Amelia Earhart, the celebrated aviator, at a White House dinner party. Amelia described the mystery of flying at night, and then invited Eleanor to come along on a flight to Baltimore and back so they could see Washington, D.C. from the air. (The night-lit panorama of the capitol building seen from the air is dazzling in Selznick's silvery colored pencil illustrations.) In return, the next day Eleanor took Amelia on a fast drive in her new motorcar.

The parallels between the two women are detailed in this glorious oversized picture book. Based on a little-known true account, the story has been fictionalized for greater effect, but it is an inspiring story that will lead children to read more about these two remarkable role models. Talk about the difference between a history book or biography, and a historical or biographical fiction book. Read the author's note that includes loads of toothsome details and an actual photo of the two taken on that memorable night. There's even an appended recipe for Eleanor's Pink Angel Food Cake, which you may want to undertake.

For an overview of the lives of both women, read David A. Adler's picture book biographies, A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart and A Picture Book of Eleanor Roosevelt. Note Eleanor Roosevelt's influence in another remarkable nonfiction picture book by Ryan and Selznick, When Marian Sang, about Marian Anderson's groundbreaking concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1939.

THEMES: AIRPLANES. BIOGRAPHICAL FICTION. EARHART, AMELIA. FIRST LADIES. FLIGHT. HISTORICAL FICTION. PICTURE BOOKS FOR OLDER READERS. ROOSEVELT, ELEANOR. WOMEN.