Amelia Earhart, Young
Air Pioneer
Table of Contents
Chapter:
1.
Amelia Comes to Grandma's House
2.
James Ferocious
3.
It's Just Like Flying
4.
School Days in
5.
James Ferocious and the Stagecoach
6.
The State fair in Des Moines
7.
Amelia Goes Exploring
8.
Christmastime at Grandma's
9.
Christmas Day
10.
The New Sled
11.
Mama Reads Black Beauty
12.
Graduation
13.
First Flight
14.
Flying Lessons
15.
A Real Pilot
What Happened Next?
The Mystery of Amelia Earhart
About the Author
Amelia Comes to
Grandma's House
THE TRAIN WHISTLE gave a loud, long toot. Great clouds of smoke blew past
the open train windows. Screens kept out the cinders, not the dust and soot.
But Amelia Earhart, sitting by the window, didn't care about the dirt. She was
busy counting white horses in the farmyards they passed.
"There's another one," she said to Muriel, her little sister.
"That makes ten. I wonder how many I'll see before we get there?" Muriel sat across from Amelia, looking out the
other window. Her mother sat beside her and Mr. Earhart beside Amelia. It was
the summer of 1904, and the Earharts were all going to visit Grandma and
Grandpa Otis. Grandpa was a judge in
"How much longer till we get to
"One more hour," said Mr. Earhart, after looking at his big watch.
Their father always knew the answers to train questions. He was a lawyer for
the railroad and often traveled on trains.
Suddenly,
above the clicking of the wheels, they heard the low rumble of thunder. The
summer sky was growing darker.
"It looks like a storm," Mrs. Earhart said.
"Yes," said Mr. Earhart. "And this will probably make the
train arrive late in
Just as Amelia gave a deep sigh, the conductor came down the aisle. He
stopped to talk to Mr. Earhart. They were old friends.
"Guess you're traveling for pleasure today?"
"That's right, Mr. Wiggins. We're going visiting. I want you to meet
Mrs. Earhart. This is Amelia and this is Muriel. But we call the girls ‘Melia’
and ‘Pidge.’"
"How do you do, Mrs. Earhart," the conductor said. "How do
you do, young ladies. We see a lot of Mr. Earhart on this train. It's nice to
meet his family." And Mr. Wiggins gave a friendly smile.
"We're not all here," Amelia put in. "Poor James Ferocious
has to ride in the baggage car, because he's a dog."
"That's too bad," said Mr. Wiggins. "But don't worry. The men
up there will take good care of him. Tell me," he went on, "where did
you get your nicknames?"
Pidge looked shy, but Amelia said promptly, "I’m named for my Grandma
Otis. Her papa called her Amelia only when she was bad, and she didn't like it.
So she never calls me Amelia-just Melia. That's what everyone calls me."
"Melia named me Pidge," put in Muriel.
"She's always singing ‘Little Blue Pigeon,’"Amelia explained.
"So I just call her Pidge. I wish she'd learn another song."
"I like to sing ‘Little Blue Pigeon,’" said Muriel. "It's by
Eugene Field. I'm going to sing it always. Do you want to hear me?"
Amelia looked out the window again. She didn't want to hear "Little
Blue Pigeon."
She got her wish. Before Pidge could begin there was a flash of lightning,
followed by a loud clap of thunder.
"We'd better put these windows down," Mr. Earhart said.
"Stand out in the aisle, girls." The two men put down the heavy train
windows. The porter was also busy closing windows. Soon the coach felt hot and
airless.
"You're a tall girl, Melia," Mr. Wiggins said, as he stepped back
in the aisle. "And you stand as straight as a soldier-just like your
papa."
"I was seven years old last month," Amelia said proudly, "on
July twenty-fourth. Pidge is only three and a half. I'm going to stay with
Grandma and Grandpa and start school in
"I'm going to stay, too," Pidge echoed.
"Why, that's fine." Mr. Wiggins waved good-by and started down the
aisle.
Rain started to spatter against the windows. The sky grew even darker.
"It's almost as dark as night,"Amelia thought.
"I don’t like storms," she said aloud.
"Me neither," Pidge said.
"Suppose there's a storm when we're at Grandma's?" Amelia put her
hand into her papa's. "I'd better go to
"But school will begin before we come back," Mama said, "and
you won't want to miss that. Think what a big girl you are, starting
school."
"I don’t care. I want to go with you. I'll miss you and Papa too
much."
"Why, Melia, you'll have such fun at Grandma's," said Papa.
"You and Pidge would get tired traveling. It's a long trip. I have to go
on business and I want Mama to see
"I want to see
"You and Melia can both see
"I'd rather see it now,"Amelia said. "I don't want to stay in
"Grandma's house is big and cool in summer," Mama reminded her.
"And remember how you like to play in the old barn," Papa added.
Another bright flash of lightning lit up the dark sky. There was another
deep roar of thunder, and rain poured against the windows. The train seemed to
sway on the track.
Pidge began to sob. "I don't like this, Mama!" Her mother put her
arm around the little girl.
"There’s too much lightning," Amelia said. "Will we have an
accident?"
"Oh, I don’t think so," Papa said. "You mustn't be afraid,
Melia. Remember our family always tries to be brave."
"But I'm not really brave, Papa. I'm afraid of lightning." Amelia
hid her face against her father's shoulder.
"My father told me about a great storm like this. He had to travel
through it when he came to
Amelia had never heard this story. "I'll bet they were scared."
"Yes, they were. But pioneers had to face danger. They learned to be
brave. That day the rain came down so hard it soaked the canvas and leaked into
their wagon. It was cold and the wind almost a gale. The horses couldn’t see to
walk. They had to sit in the rain and wait for the storm to pass."
"Couldn't they get under a big tree?" Amelia asked.
"No, they didn't dare do that, because if lightning had struck the
tree, it might have fallen on them. That night they had only a cold supper of
leftover corn bread. There was no dry firewood to build a fire. Even their beds
in the wagon were wet."
Amelia forgot about the storm. She forgot about the flashes of lightning and
crashes of thunder. She thought only about her grandfather and grandmother,
traveling from
"I wish I'd been a pioneer. I'd like to travel in a covered
wagon."
"Why, you can be a pioneer, Melia," Papa said. "The world is
very big. There will always be new things to do. But you must be brave enough
to do them. And courage is something you learn each day."
Amelia was quiet for a few minutes. She watched the rain on the windows run
down in little rivers of water. She watched the lightning. It lit up the whole
sky as it flashed. She listened for the loud rumble of thunder that followed.
As they passed a farm she saw a man driving his cows back to a barn for
shelter.
"He isn’t afraid to be out in the storm," she thought. "And a
pioneer girl wouldn’t have been frightened. She wouldn’t even have minded her
papa and mama leaving her for a trip."
Aloud she said, "I don’t think I’ll be so afraid of lightning again.
And I’ll stay with Grandma and Grandpa while you go to
"That’s my big, brave girl." Mama said.
"That’s my pioneer girl," Papa said. "I’m proud of you."
Soon, the rain fell more gently. The sky grew brighter. The train had passed
through the worst of the storm.
The door at the end of the car opened suddenly.
"Next stop,
"It’s time to put on your hats, girls," Mrs. Earhart said, as she
smoothed their hair. "Papa will see about the bags and James
Ferocious."
What happens next?
Read the new book, Amelia Earhart, Young Air Pioneer
and find out!