A little boy learns the story of his great, great uncle, who loved to fly. As a child, his uncle’s dream landed him in a pile of hay after leaping from a barn, but later spurred him to become an airman with the 322nd, one of just four African-American squadrons during World War II. Author Angela Johnson’s poetic language and illustrator Loren Long’s painterly images evoke the peace of flying as well as the “magic” of soaring among the clouds and “into the wind,” as “Uncle” would say.

“It’s what heaven must be,” Uncle says to me. “With clouds, like soft blankets, saying, ‘Come on in and get warm. Stay a while and be a wind flyer too.’”

To discover more about Angela Johnson and “Wind Flyers,” CLICK HERE