Jack Knight's Brave Flight

How One Gutsy Pilot Saved the US Air Mail Service

Illustrated by Stacy Innerst On Tour
High-flying history is brought to life in this suspenseful story of an unknown and daring pilot named Jack Knight, who in 1921 flew his biplane straight into a blizzard over America's heartland and saved the US Air Mail Service in the process.

When Jack Knight takes off in his biplane from North Platte, Nebraska, in 1921, hundreds of people crowd the airstrip. Is Jack transporting a famous passenger? Is he ferrying medicine for a sick child? Nope--Jack has six sacks of mail.
 
For the past few years, biplanes like Jack's have been flying the mail only during daylight hours. Flying after dark is risky and crashes are too common, so lawmakers decide to cut funding for the US Air Mail Service. Outraged officials and pilots want to prove that flying the mail is best, so they concoct a plan--a coast-to-coast race.
 
But when a crash, exhaustion, and a snowstorm ground three of the planes, Jack Knight becomes the race's only hope. All he has to do is fly all night long, leaning out of the plane to see, and navigate a blizzard over land he's never covered with an empty fuel tank. Will Jack pull it off and save the Air Mail Service?
Jill Esbaum is the award-winning author of several books for young readers. Some of her titles include LITTLE KIDS FIRST BIG BOOK OF HOW, CHERRY BLOSSOMS SAY SPRING, and HOW TO GROW A DINOSAUR. A frequent school visitor and conference speaker, she also teaches writing for children. View titles by Jill Esbaum
© Michael Santiago
Stacy Innerst is a painter, children's book artist, and educator. His books have been honored with the Sydney Taylor Award for The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come, The New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books Award for Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of RBG Vs. Inequality, the SCBWI Golden Kite for Picture Book Illustration for The Music in George’s Head. His recent books for Calkins Creek include Jack Knight’s Brave Flight, Saving Lady Liberty, and Lincoln Clears a Path. Visit stacyinnerst.com View titles by Stacy Innerst

About

High-flying history is brought to life in this suspenseful story of an unknown and daring pilot named Jack Knight, who in 1921 flew his biplane straight into a blizzard over America's heartland and saved the US Air Mail Service in the process.

When Jack Knight takes off in his biplane from North Platte, Nebraska, in 1921, hundreds of people crowd the airstrip. Is Jack transporting a famous passenger? Is he ferrying medicine for a sick child? Nope--Jack has six sacks of mail.
 
For the past few years, biplanes like Jack's have been flying the mail only during daylight hours. Flying after dark is risky and crashes are too common, so lawmakers decide to cut funding for the US Air Mail Service. Outraged officials and pilots want to prove that flying the mail is best, so they concoct a plan--a coast-to-coast race.
 
But when a crash, exhaustion, and a snowstorm ground three of the planes, Jack Knight becomes the race's only hope. All he has to do is fly all night long, leaning out of the plane to see, and navigate a blizzard over land he's never covered with an empty fuel tank. Will Jack pull it off and save the Air Mail Service?

Author

Jill Esbaum is the award-winning author of several books for young readers. Some of her titles include LITTLE KIDS FIRST BIG BOOK OF HOW, CHERRY BLOSSOMS SAY SPRING, and HOW TO GROW A DINOSAUR. A frequent school visitor and conference speaker, she also teaches writing for children. View titles by Jill Esbaum
© Michael Santiago
Stacy Innerst is a painter, children's book artist, and educator. His books have been honored with the Sydney Taylor Award for The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come, The New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children's Books Award for Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of RBG Vs. Inequality, the SCBWI Golden Kite for Picture Book Illustration for The Music in George’s Head. His recent books for Calkins Creek include Jack Knight’s Brave Flight, Saving Lady Liberty, and Lincoln Clears a Path. Visit stacyinnerst.com View titles by Stacy Innerst

Celebrating 100 years of James Baldwin

In celebration of James Baldwin, the literary legend and civil rights champion, and the centennial of his birth, we are sharing a collection of his work.   James Baldwin (1924–1987) was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews, and his essay collections Notes

Read more

The New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

The New York Times recently published their list “100 Best Books of the 21st Century.” We are pleased to announce that there are 49 titles published from Penguin Random House and its distribution clients included in this list. Browse our collection of Penguin Random House titles here. Browse the full list from The New York

Read more