Sherri L. Smith is the author of numerous acclaimed fiction and nonfiction books for young people, including American Wings: Chicagos Pioneering Black Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky, co-authored with Elizabeth Wein; Flygirl, the winner of the California Book Awards Gold Medal; The Blossom and the Firefly, the winner of the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators; Orleans; and Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen?