Born to fly Book Trailer from Labrarian Laleman on Vimeo.
Born to fly Student Review from Labrarian Laleman on Vimeo.
Please add a comment below once you have finished reading this book.
Born to Fly by Michael Ferrari
2013 Sakura Medal Books
2013 Sakura Medal Books 
Pingback: Some Good Reading « brian farrell
December 23, 2011 at 4:43 am
I’m the author of BORN TO FLY. A friend sent me this link, and I love the book trailer! So creative.
I was not familiar with the Sakura Medal but it looks like a great reading incentive program. I used to teach English at Southwestern Academy, a boarding school for international students in Los Angeles, CA.
January 9, 2012 at 9:36 pm
Is this a true story?
I think it is a historical fiction. How did you think of Bird’s name?
Bird is a really creative girl- she saved so many people! She is a hero.
Where did you get the idea of this whole story? How long time did it take?
I like this story because it ends up happy and sad. It makes the story more interesting to read. I like it also because it is an adventurous story.
I like how Bird expressed her feelings really well when she was on the plane. I makes me want to fly the plane.
There is a lot of history in this story. It tells how girls couldn’t fly the planes long time ago. Was Bird the first girl to be on the plane? How old was she when she flew a plane?
What inspired you to be a writer?
You have so much interesting details… I just can’t stop reading it every day!
January 11, 2012 at 2:15 am
Hi Cynthia,
I’m so glad you liked the book.
To answer some of your questions:
It is not a true story, though some parts are true (the attack on Pearl Harbor, World War II, airplanes using flour for bomb practice).
As for Bird’s name, she was a girl who wanted to fly more than anything, so I thought Bird would be the kind of nickname her dad would give her.
In the back of the book I tell how I got the idea for the story. Basically, I was at an airshow and overheard a boy tell his sister that she could never fly a fighter plane because she was a girl. So I decided to prove him wrong and let her dream come true with my story.
Bird wasn’t the first one to fly the plane in my story, and she wasn’t the first woman/girl to fly a fighter plane (in real life, I believe Russian women flew fighter planes in World War II). Bird was 11 when she flew the P-40 Warhawk.
Writers who I loved to read are what made me want to become a writer: Ray Bradbury, Judy Blume, Steve Tesich, Lawrence Kasdan, Gary Paulsen, Robert Riskin, and John Fante.
The little girl at the airshow inspired me to write this story.
January 20, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Your comment is very intresting. Can you tell me alittle bit about it?
January 20, 2012 at 9:28 pm
I loved the book! I couldn’t take my head out of it!
I just have some questions.
Is Bird a real girl who flew a plane and saved the president?
How many books have you written?
When were you born?
Are you a famous author?
What type of books do you like?
Was this the first book you wrote?
Thanks!
January 20, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Did you read it in book bowl?
January 21, 2012 at 11:18 am
Yup! I’m in charge of it!
January 21, 2012 at 11:48 am
Good luck Amani!
January 21, 2012 at 10:13 pm
Hi Amani,
To answer some of your questions:
No, Bird was not a real girl. I made her up with my imagination.
I was born in 1963.
No, I’m not famous. Just a regular person who is a teacher and a writer.
I like a lot of different kind of books. Exciting books like Treasure Island and The Count of Monte Cristo, funny books like Ramona the Pest and A Semester in the Life of a Teenage, and bittersweet books sometimes, like Dandelion Wine, Ask the Dust and A Farewell to Arms.
Yes, Born to Fly was the first book I ever wrote. I have written a second book which I hope will be published soon.
January 22, 2012 at 6:58 pm
I am not Amani but I want to ask you some of my queations.
How did you get the idea of this book?
Iam happy to wait for your second book!
January 20, 2012 at 9:29 pm
I forgot one question!
What inspired you to be a writer?
January 21, 2012 at 10:15 pm
Reading books and seeing movies, and loving the way they could make me feel something, made me want to write my own stories to see if I could do it, too.
January 21, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Good Luck to you to!
January 22, 2012 at 4:11 pm
I loved this book because Bird wants to be a fighter pilot even if she is only an 11 year old girl. That time, girls were not allowed to be fighter pilots during the war. She made friends with a Japanese boy named Kenji. Everyone thought Kenji was a spy but he wasn’t. I felt sad when Bird’s Dad died. She lost her best friend and it felt like it was the end of her world. Thank you for writing the book Mr. Ferrari.
February 28, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Wow I loved this book! I wonder what it feels like to fly a P-40 Warhawk and drop a flour bag on a spy! This book was very cool! A girl, Bird always wanted to fly a P-40 Warhawk. She might get her chance. If you want to now… just read the book!
February 28, 2012 at 6:51 pm
To all the people that commented on this book, can I ask you guys a question?
What is your favorite plane? Please reply!
March 10, 2012 at 11:12 am
It’s not really a plane, but a space shuttle. The Atlantic.
March 21, 2012 at 6:23 pm
This book was cool! A girl named Bird wants to fly an ariplane! Her dad lets her but Everything goes wrong! Will Bird crash? Will she survive? REad the book and find out!
March 22, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Thanks Liora, I’m glad you liked it.
March 22, 2012 at 9:33 pm
I forgot to login. That anonymous comment above was from me.
March 22, 2012 at 7:55 pm
This book is the amazing book I ever read. Thanks to you: Michael Ferrari! I like this book because it is always exciting!Once again, thank you!
March 22, 2012 at 9:31 pm
You’re very welcome, Kaitlyn. It’s exciting to think my book has travelled all the way to where you are, so you could enjoy it.
March 22, 2012 at 9:34 pm
Kaitlyn, the anonymous comment above was from me.
March 24, 2012 at 12:33 pm
I really like this book because I love to travel around the world and the picture of the plane got me atracted to the book. I also like Kenji coming in and everybody thinks he was like the other adults in the war, enemys. And thing I love the most is that Bird treats the plane like its her best friend, and it doesn’t say that in the book but the words just tell you that. I think Mr.Ferrai did a very good job in writting this book.
But just 1 question to Mr.Ferrai:
In other books, the authers make it happy ending. What made you write that the dad dies?
March 26, 2012 at 4:01 am
I think that’s a very perceptive comment, Megumi and I would agree with you that the plane is like a best friend for Bird.
I wrote the ending that way because I wanted readers to understand the extraordinary sacrifices that average people had to make to win the war. I wanted the readers to feel like it wasn’t just something that happened to other people. It happened to everyone.
April 12, 2012 at 8:36 pm
I loved this book. It is the second best book from all the books I have read. The deputy is soo mean and evil. Bird is really strong and brave
April 14, 2012 at 7:54 pm
It’s very rewarding to hear that you liked my book. I like your screen name, “Unnati”. It sounds like an interesting character name to have in a book.