I've never been on a hot air balloon ride but it's definitely on my bucket list. When I do get the chance to step into that basket and float away, I'll know who to thank for making sure I come back.
In the late 1800s, inventors Mary and Carl Myers designed and constructed balloons, using chemistry, engineering, and meteorology. But it was Mary who took on the stage name "Carlotta" and performed balloon tricks for crowds—all while she recorded flight data! She experimented with different shapes and sizes of balloons, airflows, and fuels. From Mary's multitasking aeronautics, the Myers' determined that hydrogen was the best fuel to use. Mary and Carl also designed a propeller which made steering the craft more efficient. Sharing all their findings with the scientific community, this power couple helped improve hot air balloons and our understanding of flight, weather patterns, and the atmosphere.
Written by Sue Ganz-Schmitt and illustrated by Iacopo Bruno, SKYBOUND!: Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist is the true story of the adventurer who sailed through the skies and stunned the world below. Today Sue tells us about the years of work that went into launching this picture-book biography.
What sparked your interest in Mary Myers?
In 2017, I began a master's program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. The program offered a Picture Book Intensive program for one semester which required me to write around four picture books a month. One of the assignments was for a picture book biography which was intimidating as I had only written fictional picture books. I began searching for a powerful woman who had been forgotten by history as my subject. Because of my interest in space and flight (you will find those themes in my other books), I ended up on a Wikipedia page that stated that Mary Myers was "the first US woman to pilot her own aircraft". This grabbed my attention as I was shocked that I had never heard of her. As I dug deeper, however, I learned this was not accurate. There have been other forgotten women who piloted a craft before her. Nonetheless, she was such an extraordinary woman, I wanted her to be known by kids (everyone, really) and to take her rightful place in history. (I see a postage stamp and Halloween costumes!)
Was there one aspect of Mary Myers—a specific scene, quote, or image—that guided you throughout the writing process?
During her first flying season, Mary hit a tremendous storm and rain soaked her balloon making it too heavy to fly. She crashed into the top of an 80-foot-high basswood tree. Stuck there, she beckoned some hunters below to help her as the storm raged on. While they scratched their head, she directed them on how to get her down. She kept her calm and focus both during the storm, the crash, and through getting herself and her balloon safely down from the tree. The men said, "they never knew a woman could engineer a job so well before" and Mary's response was, "I guess maybe because they never caught one up a tree!" This treetop view of Mary Myers held the spirit of the story for me.
While researching this book, which fact surprised you the most?
Mary once was batted back and forth 11 times between two heavily charged thunderclouds where her balloon acted as a conductor. She was rarely terrified on her dangerous adventures and found most thunderclouds harmless as she approached them, but this event really rattled her.
Why do you think kids can relate to Skybound!?
I feel that the realistic, yet whimsical art of Iacopo Bruno will visually pull kids into the story right away. I think that kids feel so earthbound and vulnerable in their lives, unable to control much, so there is great fantasy and appeal in the idea of flying off in a balloon. I think they will love Mary who found her way up both literally and metaphorically, ignoring the constraints of society. I also think that the idea of soaring in a balloon holds such charm for both kids and adults.
Which sources were invaluable in writing this biography?
While Wikipedia is not considered a scholarly source, I found it a great place to start my research as it listed many books that feature Mary Myers. Unfortunately, both Wikipedia and the books I found echoed several inaccuracies about her and her life. I really studied information on Ancestry.com and other genealogy sites. I also reached out to friendly folks at local museums near where she lived. My favorite source, though, was Mary's autobiography. There is nothing like finding your subject's own words.
How did you select the timeframe for your book?
It was a difficult choice on whether to narrow the camera lens and focus on a specific timeframe from her life or pull back wider and tell the bigger story. I wrote over a hundred drafts over several years, trying to get many of the extraordinary events of her life into the story. Then I decided to keep the story to the unfolding of her first flight and put the rest in the backmatter of the book.
What's your #1 tip for writing true stories?
Keep track of your research from the start. Since I was on such a speedy timeframe during my graduate school program, my research was frenzied and all over the place. I had word docs, newspaper articles, website links, museum documents, and more flying around my head, desk, computer. I have had to spend a lot of time backtracking and organizing all of it since.
If you could pick the ideal place for a Skybound! storywalk, where would it be?
It would be at: 128 Cemetery Rd., Frankfort, New York which is the site of the five-acre Balloon Farm where Mary Myers and her husband Carl ran their historical balloon manufacturing business.
What other books would you recommend to readers who love Skybound!?
• A Voyage in the Clouds: The (Mostly) True Story of the First International Flight by Balloon in 1785 by Matthew Olshan (Author) and Sophie Blackall (Illustrator)
• Fly, Girl, Fly!: Shaesta Waiz Soars around the World by Nancy Roe Pimm (Author) and Alexandra Bye (Illustrator)
• Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman's Dreams Took Flight (A Sweet Blackberry Book) by Karyn Parsons (Author), R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)
• Fearless Flyer: Ruth Law and Her Flying Machine by Heather Lang (Author), Raul Colón (Illustrator)
• Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed (Author), Stasia Burrington (Illustrator)
TRUE STORY TIDBITS
I recommend this uplifting and informative picture-book biography on three shelves in my TrueStory Bookshop:
- True Stories~Makers
- True Stories~Science
- True Stories~Women's History
To take a peek inside the book, checkout my Booktok.
Every day is a good day for a true story but here are some special tie-in dates for Skybound!:
- March: Women's History Month
- June 5: Hot Air Balloon Day
- July 5 (1880): Mary's first flight
- August 26 (1850): Mary Myers birthday
Sue Ganz-Schmitt is a children's book author, musical theater producer, SCBWI member, and philanthropist. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in writing for children and young adults. Sue has performed in RENT on Broadway, run a marathon, and pursues other improbable and exciting challenges—as often as she can. To learn more about her other books, visit her website.