Maggie Gee was extraordinary. Not only was she one of the few women pilots in WWII but she was one of only two Chinese American women to fly for the American Women Airforce Service. Her amazing accomplishments as a pilot and all-around awesome person are chronicled in the picturebook biography
Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee with words by Marissa Moss and exuberant illustrations by Carl Angel.
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| Amelia Earhart wishes she looked so good hanging out on an airplane |
Maggie's family spent their Sundays watching the airplanes lumber down the runway and then glide gracefully through the air at the new Oakland Airport in the San Francisco area. Little wonder that when WWII broke out, she decided to volunteer to fly with the WASPs. She and two friends pooled together to buy a truck to get to the training area and
she taught herself to drive on the way there. Ballsy.
One of the few graduates (25,000 applied and 1,037 graduated), Maggie flew dangerous training missions and formations using on their own wits to navigate by. I find it a stretch to drive home at dusk - imagine flying a plane in the dark. In the sky. Where there are no street signs.
After the war, Maggie earned degrees in physics and mathematics from UC Berkeley. She's spent the years after the war being a brilliant physicist, serving in various community organizations and working in Europe for the Special Services.
Sky High is a wonderful picturebook that brings to light the life of a certified badass.
