Skybound by Sue Ganz-Schmitt, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

Skybound: Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist by Sue Ganz-Schmitt,  illustrated by Iacopo Bruno. Calkins Creek, 2024. 9781635928150

Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4

Format: Hardcover picture book

Genre: Biography

What did you like about the book?  Young readers who dream of living a life that combines science with adventure will enjoy this beautifully illustrated STEM-themed biography. Growing up in 19th century Pennsylvania, young Mary Breed Hawley eschewed convention when she married her inventor husband, Carl Myers. As balloon madness swept the country, they developed new fabrics and mechanical designs, initially hiring a professional aeronaut for test flights. Frustrated by his lack of interest in weather science, the Myers decide to turn Mary into a flight professional. Taking the stage name “Carlotta”, she embarked on her illustrious and dangerous career. Ganz-Schmitt uses a lively conversational tone to describe her subject’s accomplishments, creating appropriate suspense for Mary’s first ground-breaking flight. The beautiful pen and ink-wash illustrations include labeled and minutely observed close-ups of scientific instruments, such as a barometer, a compass, a spyglass, and, of course, numerous sketches of balloon designs. Mary often seems to float in the images, imagining herself in the clouds as a young girl, or reaching for books from atop a tall library ladder. The narrative ends after her first historic ascent, but back matter includes a lengthy essay with more specifics about Mary’s bravery and resourcefulness (especially when confronted with impending disaster). Photos show Mary in her balloons (much stouter and older than in the book). A detailed timeline reveals she had time to pop out a daughter, write a book, participate in balloon races, and establish the Balloon Farm in upstate New York, an aeronautical research and design center.

Anything you didn’t like about it? An opening double-page spread shows nineteenth century women engaged in traditional female pursuits, such as sewing, child rearing, and playing the piano, while describing Mary as having loftier ideas. Unfortunately, we never learn anything about her upbringing and how it may have influenced her unconventional life choices. It was also unclear why Mary, rather than Carl, became a pilot or why she performed under a stage name. Throughout the text, some words appeared in bold, colorful type, but there didn’t seem to be any logic behind these choices. 

To whom would you recommend this book? Readers interested in STEM picture book biographies of women, such Blast Off!: How Mary Sherman Morgan Fueled America into Space by Suzanne Slade (2022) or The Fearless Flights of Hazel Ying Lee by Julie Leung (2021).

Who should buy this book? Elementary schools and public libraries

Where would you shelve it? Biography

Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No

Reviewer: Susan Harari, Keefe Library, Boston Latin School, Boston, MA

Date of review: June 26, 2024