The Hallelujah Flight

Written by Phil Bildner

Illustrated by John Holyfield

No Awards

The Hallelujah Flight is a story about James Banning, the first African American to fly across the country. Banning took his flight during The Great Depression and did it to serve as a symbol of inspiration. Banning and his co-pilot Thomas Allen decided to take the flight together, and were given the name "The Flying Hobo's." The two persevered through scary weather and were welcomed with enthusiasm and cheer during their landing in New York. 

This is a great book for elementary students and could be used to spread a little inspiration to a classroom. This is a perfect book to use during a social studies unit when teaching your students about perseverence. This is also a great book to use to check for students attention, there are lots of points in the book that could be used for discussion.