When Bessie Coleman was a child, she had to work in the fields to help her family

Authors: Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger
Illustrator: Teresa Flavin
Format: Paperback
Published: Simon & Schuster, 2001

When Bessie Coleman was a child, she had to work in the fields to help her family instead of going to school. She was so determined to learn, however, that she would check the foreman's numbers at the end of each day. As an adult, she traveled to France and earned an international pilot's license. Upon her return, she became the first African American avitor to fly in the United States. A sought after performer, Coleman would only fly in shows that admitted people of all races.