Air Babies

Akron, Ohio and New York: The Saalfield Publishing Company, 1938. Second Edition. Wraps. Very good +. Elvy KALEP. [CHILDREN] [AERONOTICS] [PICTURE BOOK]. Forward by Amelia EARHART. Elvy KALEP, illustrator.
Second issue. 4to (12 7/16” x 9 7/16”); [16]pp; color pictorial stiff wrapper; “Approved by United Airlines” printed on the front wrapper in a shield logo; two staple binding; 17 pages of color illustration with text; creasing to bottom corner, light soiling to bottom corner and some pages, hand-soiling to wrapper; very good plus. OCLC locates this edition in 10 libraries, 8 of them in the U.S. First published in 1936, this edition was published (truncated) in 1938, the year after Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean (July 2, 1937). A photo and facsimile signature from Amelia Earhart accompany her Forward.

The author, Elvy Kalep (1899-1989) was Estonia’s first female aviator, as well as an artist and children’s author. Charming and fanciful illustrations of flying babies with short stories that teach about flying and air conditions. One illustration and story titled “Uncle Zepp” centers around a zeppelin. Other stories are titled Ground School, Take-Off, Gary Glider, Willie Kite, Nasty Storm, Patsie Parachute, Blind Flying, Slip Stream, Auntie Balloon, Mountain Currents, Forced Landing, Jennie Gyro, First Aid, Formation Flying, Refueling, and Happy Dreams. (Inventory #: 1523)