Jump Into the Sky

Reach for this book when your child is starting to ask complex questions about systemic unfairness or if they are navigating a difficult transition within their own family. It is a powerful tool for middle schoolers who are ready to move beyond basic history to understand the lived, emotional experience of the Jim Crow era. Thirteen-year-old Levi is sent from Chicago to North Carolina to find his father, a pilot in the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. Through Levi's eyes, readers experience the jarring shift from the relative freedom of the North to the segregated South. It is a story of grit and belonging that helps children process how identity is shaped by both family bonds and the world's expectations. While it handles heavy themes of racism, it remains grounded in the hopeful search for a father's love.