Let's fly Barrington Irving's record-breaking flight around the world

Writing in high-octane language, the first Black pilot (and at the time, in 2007, the youngest) to fly solo around the world looks back to the mentorship of a commercial pilot who inspired him to study for his pilot's license and challenged him to give back. Hoping himself to inspire future generations, he started an after-school program, built his own aircraft from donated parts, and set out on the historic flight. Though his itinerary is mapped out in an illustration and all 26 stops in 12 countries are listed, he actually writes only of being in the air--where "wicked gusts shook my plane like a saltshaker" and his fingers turned blue in the cold--and then ends with a triumphant landing. An afterword and time line supply more detail about his flight and his subsequent work with young people; Knight-Justice depicts him in a heroic mold, as a solitary young dreamer posing with supporters and airplanes. Irving's 2012 memoir, Touch the Sky, and other sources in the bibliography will lead readers to the full story of this uncommon aviator.

K-Gr 3--In this autobiographical picture book, Irving with Stiefel describes his journey to become the youngest person and first Black man to fly solo around the world. He started life in Jamaica, where he helped his uncle fix cars, and grew up in Florida, where criticism and challenges strengthened his personal ambitions towards achievement. In high school, he met a Black pilot who mentored him, bought him his first flying lessons, and convinced him to develop his dream of flying and achieve his dreams through hard work, practice, and passion. His mentor, Captain Robinson, also challenged him to pay it forward to other young flight enthusiasts, which he did through after-school programs and by, ultimately, becoming a flight school teacher. The story includes a map charting Irving's journey across the globe and conveys some of the struggles and challenges that come with long stretches of time in a cockpit in all kinds of weather and with no stopping for restroom breaks. The energetic illustrations effectively convey the narrator's personal drive, ambitions, achievements, the wonders of flight, and diagrams of cockpit flight controls as well as parts of a plane and engine. The story concludes with a helpful time line, fab facts, quotes from Irving, and further reading. VERDICT This rich and inspiring true story will have young flying enthusiasts riveted.--Jessica Marie

The first Black pilot to solo circumnavigate the world tells his story. Irving, born in Jamaica, moves to Miami at age 6, and the "badgering" about his clothes and speech that he endures as an outsider just makes him resolve to aim high. That goal initially means football--until a stranger walks into his parents' bookstore and asks if he's ever thought about becoming a pilot. Captain Gary Robinson, who is also Black, takes him under his wing and into a cockpit, giving him a lesson with a flight instructor when Irving turns 16. Irving earns money for more lessons, works hard, and obtains his pilot's license. Then Captain Robinson poses a challenge to the 21-year-old Irving: Pay it forward and help someone else. Irving starts an after-school STEM program, then envisions a landmark goal: a solo flight around the world. His initial efforts to find support are discouraging; it takes two years to get a plane, another year to plan. Despite doubts, Irving takes off in 2007 before, 26 stops and 97 days later, eventually returning to Miami. One full-page illustration is devoted to the riskiest flight segment; a map traces the whole route. The art is colorful and uncluttered but detailed, with labels for cockpit instruments and levers, as well as many parts of a turbo-prop. Though details of the flights are few, the writing channels the aviator's conversational voice, and the narrative arc is uplifting. An attractive condensed account that will put the wind under readers' wings. (more information on Irving, timeline, quotes from Irving, bibliography)(Picture-book memoir. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.