A gorgeous picture book that pays homage to aviator Freddie Carmichael - the first Indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic - with each month of the year highlighting moments from his life, the beauty of the North, and the power of dreams.

The above quote from the front book flap is an excellent summary of this biography. While this is a brief reflection on the the life of Freddie Carmichael, a member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, it serves the format well. The publisher includes the Inuvialuktun and Gwich'in translations (and pronunciation guide) for the months of the year which greatly enhances the context. The artwork, acrylic paint on canvas, by Audrea Loreen-Wulf is beautiful and evocative of Canada's Western Arctic. Another engaging title from Tundra Books. Thanks to the publisher for this review copy made available through a LibraryThing GiveAway.
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I really enjoyed this biography of aviator Fred Carmichael. I think it does a great job introducing readers his life story, with a nice amount of more detailed information in the back matter along with a translation guide and some photos. The illustrations throughout the book were beautiful and really helped set the scene and atmosphere of the story. My only complaint was that the framing device of having each page be a different month of the year felt a little random, it didn't seem like there was a clear connection between the life events appearing on the page and the month they were paired with. ( )

A gorgeous picture book that pays homage to aviator Freddie Carmichael — the first Indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic...

A truly wonderful and inspiring tale with marvellous accompanying illustrations.

Thank you TundraBooks and the author and illustrator for this fine book! ( )

A very inspiring 'true-story' read with excellent illustrations. Children of all ages will thoroughly enjoy this book. ( )

Freddie was a boy living in Canada’s far north who dreamed of being a pilot after watching a small plane bring supplies to his remote community. He worked hard to earn money so that he could go to flying school when he was sixteen where he got his pilot’s license and flew home in his own plane.

This is a beautiful book with the wonderful true story of Fred Carmichael’s successful career as the first indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic. It will inspire a child with confidence to follow their dreams. Easy to read, twelve short chapters are headed by the names of the months, written in English, Gwich’in, and Inuvialuktun. The colourful illustrations are outstanding and impart the ambiance and character of the north. ( )

This is what an autobiography should be. Co-written by the subject, Fred Carmichael, the book summarized the major events in his life and career by cleverly using 12 months represented by one story and one illustration. The writing is neither flowery nor detailed but engages the reader and provides enough details to appreciate Fred's life experiences. I especially admire the nod to the indigenous cultures of Gwich'in and Inuvialuit peoples by using terms included to help describe each month.

The inclusion of an indigenous illustrator also contributes to the authenticity of this autobiography. The illustrations, painted with rough canvas showing through, perfectly match the ruggedness of the Canadian bush.

Thank you @TrundrBooks for providing high quality stories that represent diverse people and cultures. ( )

This is a gorgeous true storybook about Freddie Carmichael, the first indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic. In twelve pages named for months of the year, it tells how he grew up, trained and got his pilot's license, and relates some of his heroic adventures. The artwork is very striking (paint on canvas appearance). Great book for an elementary school library ***** ( )

I really loved how the writers went about telling the story of Freddie Carmichael. His life is told in 12 stories starting with the month of January and ending with December. Each month is accompanied by the Gwich'in and Inuvialuktun translations for the months' name, this practice is one that I have always been a fan of since I was a kid. At the back of the book, there is a more in-depth translation of their direct meaning and their pronunciations along with a page of a more in-depth overview of Freddie's life and his accomplishments. The illustrator's beautiful artwork that accompanies the various stories is absolutely breathtaking and each picture is so colorful and full of life. I found this book to be thoroughly enjoyable and is a treasure in my collection. ( )

"As he slept on spruce boughs under the northern lights, he dreamed of flying. But that dream felt bigger than the whole Arctic."

"Freddie the Flyer" is a new Native authored and illustrated picture book about the first Indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic. Freddie Carmichael, the subject and coauthor of this book, was born to a Scotch-Irish father and a Gwich'in mother in the northern Arctic in 1935. He grew up daydreaming about airplanes and took his first ride at the age of sixteen. Freddie could not get over his hunger for the skies and soon started in to work his way through flying school. Once he graduated with his private and commercial pilot's licenses, he saved up enough money to buy his own plane, a Stinson Voyager. Freddie would use his flying skills to rescue people who needed hospital care. He also began to start companies of his own, teaching Indigenous people to fly and work with airplanes. And, of course, he continued to fly. He carried mushers and their dog teams, expert explorers, tourists, and many more. Freddie never gave up on his dreams, and he is still flying.

First, I want to say a word about the illustrations in this book. They are lovely. The two page spread at the beginning of the book is especially striking. I also enjoyed the paintings of the animals in the book: dogs, caribou, and muskox. There was one error in the illustrations of the airplanes. When young Freddie is supposed to be playing with a Spitfire, it's depicted as a four engine airplane when, in reality, Spitfires are single engine planes. However, my dad (who is an aircraft mechanic) also said that the Stinson Voyager was depicted quite well.

As regards the writing in the book, it's not spectacular, but it is engaging. I always hate writing this part of a review, as it seems so wrong to grade someone's heart and effort that they've poured into a text. But I have to be honest, and this book was good but not enchanting to me.

I did appreciate that the book had the names of the months in both Gwich'in and Inuvialuktun. As to the book's general reliability, one of the book's coauthors, Freddie Carmichael himself, is, as stated before, Gwich'in, and the illustrator of the book, Audrea Loreen-Wulf, is Inuvialuit. For the names of the months they also got translation help from Gwich'in and Inuvialuit language keepers.

"Freddie the Flyer" is one of the many (thankfully) new Indigenous books by Indigenous authors that are appearing lately. By its inclusion of the Gwich'in and Inuvialuktun languages it enables Indigenous youth to feel seen and validated. And by covering a period of recent history leading down to the present it reinforces Indigenous people's cry today of "We are still here". This is a book I'm happy to add to my stack of Native children's books. I recommend this book.

(I received this book from the website LibraryThing in exchange for my honest review.)

Freddie the Flyer is an appealing picture book about aviator Fred Carmichael, the first Indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic. His story is told through a series of two page spreads featuring a colorful painting paired with text which advances chronologically through both Freddie's life and the months of the year. The names of each month are listed in English, Gwich'in, and Inuvialuktun. At the end of the book a page is devoted to translation of the indigenous language names. January for example is called "hard month to get over" or "the new sun." This material is interesting, and printing each language in a different color makes it easy to distinguish between them.

Also at the end of the book is a page of photos, and a one page biography of Fred "Freddie" Carmichael, tying together the story told through one-paragraph snippets in the main body of the text. Each anecdote is written in a way that is warm, affectionate, and sometimes exciting; perfect for reading aloud. I think children will enjoy the story and the animals, especially the puppies, included in many of the illustrations. The artwork, acrylic paint on canvas, is disappointingly clumsy in a few spots, but the beautiful color, particularly in the night skies, more than makes up for that. The cover too features lovely deep colors and catches the eye.

The book is printed on heavy paper which will hold up well to page turning by little hands. I look forward to sharing Freddie the Flyer with my grandsons.

I enjoyed the short picture book autobiography of Freddie. It was lovely to learn a few new words in respect of the year's calendar months in two indigenous languages. I think the book is inspirational for any young boy or girl to read about Freddie's life and achievements in a very straightforward pretty picture book format. I also enjoyed the illustrations of the arctic region quite a bit.

This is a lovely picture book, a biography of Fred Carmichael through the lens of the months of the year in the Canadian Northwest Territories. He was the first Indigenous Canadian to get a pilot's license, and has helped others get theirs. I particularly liked the information on the months of the year in two Indigenous languages as well.

Born in 1935 in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Freddie James Carmichael became fascinated with flying from a very young age, He began training at the flying school in Edmonton, Alberta, earning his pilot's license, buying his own plane beginning a lifelong career and dream as a pilot. He was the first indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic. Beautiful artwork, depicting the Far North, was created with acrylic paint on canvas. ( )