children's nonfiction; biography. Seems to be well-researched (lots of primary sources, as noted in the annotated bibliography--there are also suggested websites and source notes by chapter) and offers a fairly complete view of Amelia's life, certain aspects of which are dealt with delicately:

On her father's alcoholism: p.20 Earhart's drunkard dad is described as "that angry, thick-tonged stranger who cursed and yelled." A's sister Muriel believed that he "'would have struck'" Amelia for pouring out his whiskey "'if Mother had not... seized his arm from behind.'" It also says that the girls "spent most evenings locked away in their bedrooms."

On her romance with George: p.53 "Amelia obviously had romantic feelings for George [Putnam], too. But she resisted his charms at first, because George was married."
p. 70 "She also spent lots of time with [still married] George.... People who saw them had no doubt about their relationship. 'Their love affair was in full swing,' said one friend. 'There was an electricity between them that you couldn't miss, and the subtle pats and touching were unmistakeable.' [George's wife] Dorothy Putnam realized what was happening, too." When Dorothy divorces him, George pleads with Amelia to marry him, and eventually she relents.

Her childhood is relatively dull (I remember very little of it), but interspersed between biographical chapters are various accounts of the events surrounding her mysterious disappearance. The description of her voyage (each leg of the journey leading up to her disappearance) is also pretty dull--an annotated map might have served better.

Inset textboxes are interesting (particularly for fans of aviation science) but can disrupt the flow of the main text. Inset text and pictures are on the tiny side (small!).

No glossary is offered, but technical terms are explained as they're introduced. Younter kids who read this will still need to have a dictionary/encyclopedia/google handy (that's a good thing) to tackle words like uncanny, typhoid, countenance, dauntless, laurels, unseemly, lucrative, etc. ( )

Does justice to a complicated woman. Nice format and style. ( )

Biography of Amelia Earhart. Short; pretty good. Reveals what a self-promoter she was. She was also extremely impulsive and somewhat irresponsible.

Candace Fleming’s story telling gives life into the mysterious story of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. Amelia Earhart’s childhood was filled with her passion and determination of becoming a pilot. At first Amelia was not so interested into planes until she moves to the United States and is bitten by the flying bug. She works hard to have money to pay for flying lessons and soon she begins to fly on her on which leads to her becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean; until she is lost and never seen again. The accounts of Amelia’s last flight and the attempts to locate her are fascinating. The organization of this book builds suspense and creates tension. ( )

This is a fine, carefully wrought biography that joins many more about the famous aviator. It works because the writing is clear, but it reads like an adventure story, the reader hoping all along that maybe Earhart will emerge from the ether. The photos enhance the telling and, while I found a few of the callouts in the text distracting, I believe that its middle reader target audience, raised on distracting DK picture books, will press on without complaint.

It will be on my Mock Newbery 2012 list. ( )