Additional information
by Lynn Homan (Author), Thomas Reilly (Author)
Join Joshua and his grandpa for a heartwarming history of the brave African American Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.
Young readers can sit with Joshua and his friends as his grandfather tells him the story of his service in World War II as a Tuskegee Airman. Topics like war, racism, and segregation may be unfamiliar to young readers, but this story explains complicated topics in ways that any child can understand. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military pilots, and some of the bravest among all of the armed forces, but pilots weren't the only important faction-- both men and women worked as mechanics, instructors, nurses, cooks, and many more invaluable jobs. As Joshua's grandpa says, "Everybody who helped America to win the war was a hero. Some people fought America's enemies in battles overseas. Others fought for freedom at home."
Learn about the service and sacrifice made by Joshua's grandpa, grandma, and countless others who made the Tuskegee Airmen legacy last for generations.
Front Jacket
Tuskegee Airmen: American Heroes
Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly
It's an unseasonably warm winter's day, and the teachers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School are nowhere to be found. Elderly Victor Kennedy is called in to teach seventh-grade American history. As the students take their seats, Mr. Kennedy writes one word on the board: Tuskegee.
Mr. Kennedy teaches his students about the America he grew up in: an America very different from the one his students know. Laws enforced segregation. African Americans were limited to menial jobs that offered no hope of a better life.
When World War II struck, every able-bodied man was needed for the defense of the nation, regardless of the color of his skin. In 1941, young black men began training at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, despite those who said that African Americans weren't smart enough to operate anything as intricate as an airplane.
Mr. Kennedy's students, learning of segregation for the first time, eagerly listen to the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. Mr. Kennedy teaches them about the brave men who flew the death-filled skies of World War II and fought the deeply-engrained racism of their hometowns.
Authors Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly bring extensive experience in historical research, writing, and creative design to their work. They have written thirteen books together, including Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen and The Tuskegee Airmen Story, both available from Pelican Publishing. Their work has been featured in such publications as the North Carolina Historical Review and in exhibits in several museums.
Illustrator Rosalie M. Shepherd is a well-known landscape and portrait painter, employing oils, acrylics, charcoal, and watercolors. Her work has been featured in the Peabody Language Development kit.
Back Jacket
Tuskegee Airmen: American Heroes
Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly
Substitute teacher Victor Kennedy begins a middle-school American history class by writing one word on the chalkboard: Tuskegee. Over the next several days, the elderly veteran teaches students about the Tuskegee Airmen, brave men who fought racism and prejudice to fly more than 1,500 missions during World War II. The students learn about segregation and how the victories of the Tuskegee Airmen helped move the United States on a path toward racial equality. In Tuskegee Airmen: American Heroes, exciting battles against evil abroad and at home come alive for a new generation.
Author Biography
Lynn Homan and Thomas Reilly bring extensive experience in historical research, writing, and creative design to their work. An important facet of projects undertaken at Homan and Reilly Designs is the development of relationships with individuals featured as exhibition subjects. Insights gained through extensive personal interviews bring the subjects to life. More than 8,000 hours were involved in the production of the nationally acclaimed traveling exhibition, The Tuskegee Airmen. With over 25 years of experience in the aviation industry, Thomas Reilly has served as an aviation consultant and chief financial officer. A licensed pilot, he has flown both fixed-wing aircraft and hot air balloons. Reilly earned his M.B.A. from Northeastern University. Lynn Homan earned her B.A. in history from West Virginia University, and served as the administrative director of a Florida history museum in 1986. She has become involved in the production of museum exhibitions, serving variously as an editor, curator, and designer, and has provided photo-documentation of historic structures to the National Register of Historic Places. Both authors are active participants in the Florida Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau, and live in St. Petersburg, Florida.
