Promise the Night
Lions. Leopards. Airplane Crashes.
Immediately compelling and action-packed, this carefully researched work of historical fiction introduces young readers to the childhood of the famous yet elusive Beryl Markham, the first person to fly solo from England to North America. A fascinating read for anyone with a thirst for adventure.
Hardcover : 264 pages
Reading age : 9 - 12 years
ISBN-13 : 978-0811876254
Reviews :
"Fluid prose elucidates a life much stranger than fiction." Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
"Unique historical novel about one tenacious girl." School Library Journal, starred review
"A compelling tale" Scholastic Parent and Child
"Fascinating novel about a remarkable woman's childhood.” VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates
"Maccoll vividly portrays her headstrong protagonist" Booklist
"With action and a very plucky heroine, this book will appeal to young
women and men alike." Library Media Connections
Watch Beryl’s Arrival in NYC
In a life full of adventure, her greatest feat was to fly across the Atlantic solo. Flying into the night, surrounded by makeshift fuel tanks, the flight was an excruciating ordeal. She received a hero’s welcome when she finally reached NY.
Beryl Markham flies across the Atlantic and reaches New York, United State 1936
Later, when it was all over, she wondered if she had not been so careless, would the danger have passed her by?
Her only warning was a patch of lighter night by the door. The leopard must have slunk in, crawling soundlessly on his stomach the way cats do. Ears flat to his head. Spotted fur standing up on his back. Eyes fixed on his prey. Waiting. Waiting. . .
Buller’s anguished yelp filled the hut. When she heard the deep yowl, she knew it was a cat, probably a leopard. Beryl huddled beneath the safety of the mosquito netting, afraid the cat would finish off Buller and then go after her.
“Buller! Be careful, boy!” Beryl screamed at the top of her voice. She waved the knife in the dark. She couldn’t see what was happening, but she could hear Buller’s low growl. She imagined that the leopard was poised to spring onto her bed.
“Daddy!” she cried. She ripped off the blanket and snapped it toward the battling animals. Even if she had the courage, Beryl knew she shouldn’t join the fight on the floor; she was just as likely to hurt Buller as help him.
Beryl could make out the leopard’s shadow, spotted even in the dimness. It sprang onto Buller’s back and sank its sharp teeth in the loose skin at the back of his neck.
“DADDY!”
Beryl heard what sounded like Buller’s back cracking as he tried to shake off the cat. Before she could scream again, the leopard had dragged her best friend in the world out of her hut. Buller’s cries ended as suddenly as they began.
— Promise the Night