The Little Airplane (Lois Lenski Books)

Rating:
Summary: Not for toddlers
Review: Amazon has this book listed as being appropriate for the "baby-preschool" level. That may be true for the illustration style, but the story is quite lengthy and detailed. My son is 3 1/2 and barely has the attention span to sit through this story, and he's an airplane fanatic.

The book is one of a series written by Lenski with similar illustation styles (two color line drawings) and a cast of characters with names like "Small" and "Shorty." The star of The Little Airplane is Pilot Small who takes out his little propeller plane for a leisurely spin, experiences some slight malfunctions, but lands safely, repairs the plane, and returns to the airport.

What makes the story lengthy are the details about how the plane is flown. We are told about which controls he uses in the cockpit to control the rudder, ailerons and elevator. We are brought through his safety checklist and the sequence of events that gets the plane into the air. The details set this book apart from many others written for young children. I've read many, many books about planes to my son and I learned something new from this one.

Unfortunately, I think the time has passed for the Lenski "Small" series. It appears to have been written originally for older children, back when printing technology was limited. Today, children have much more engaging illustrations competing for their attention, so this book seems dull in appearance. Unfortunately, the detailed text is may not be enough to engage a child who is young enough to accept the old fashioned appearance.

I think the audience for this book is quite limited. If you know a 3 or 4 year old who already has an exceptional knowledge of planes and flight, you may do well with this book. We found Lenski's book The Little Train to be much more enjoyable. It is a bit shorter and less bogged down with detail.



Rating:
Summary: Prop Aeronautics Lesson 101
Review: This little book is a basic lesson in how airplanes work and would be a great prologue if you're reading HATCHET by gary paulsen in which the kid learns to fly a prop plane the hard way. Introduces all the basic elements of fixed wing flight in non-cutesy language. Also would be a fine book for first-time flyers to reassure them that airplanes do indeed NOT fall out of the sky.

Rating:
Summary: A great series that grows with your child
Review: While the text may be lengthy for toddlers (I have a 3-1/2 year old who loves this book, borrowed from the library, that I'm buying him a copy), this is certainly a book that grows with the child. The engaging, simple pictures allow for much imaginative story telling (who ever said parents are supposed to read every word when the child isn't ready?), moving into reading more and more of the text as the child grows older. I trained for a private pilot license, and the details given are simple and factual; just the kind of real stuff that children interested in airplanes would want to know; it's stuff they absorb readily if the subject interests them. I'm glad to see these books back in circulation. The other books in Lois Lenski's series are great, too.

I don't know what the board book is like, but the rating of Baby-Preschool isn't accurate, at least for the 56-page Hard- and Paperback editions. This book is also great for older children who want to know more about the basic mechanics of airplanes and flight.