The Airport Book

February 15, 2016
Brown (Mummy Cat) traces an airplane journey through the eyes of a family: two parents, a son, and his toddler sister. The title page introduces the device on which the story hangs as the parents tell each other not to forget the toddler’s favorite stuffed animal; separately, readers see the girl cramming Monkey into her mother’s suitcase. Brown follows them to the airport departure area, filled with individuals and families that readers see throughout: “There are lots of people saying lots of goodbyes. Sometimes they hug. Sometimes they cry.” Despite the sister’s consternation, readers see Monkey traveling safely (and having a close encounter with a friendly dog) with the luggage while the family sits in the cabin above. More than just an introduction to the airport, the story is a look at the wide world itself. The biracial family encounters dozens of strangers—old, young, familiar, foreign—and observes their idiosyncracies (“Blah blah blah” says a woman who’s perpetually on her phone). Amusing Easter eggs abound, and Brown’s calm delineation of the mysteries and mundanities of air travel should reassure reluctant travelers. Ages 5–7. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency.

Starred review from March 1, 2016
This good-humored introduction to air travel follows a multiracial family (black dad, white mom, two brown kids) through the airport, down the jetway, and onto their plane. Each step receives cleareyed treatment. Vivid ink-and-watercolor illustrations capture the lines, bag checks, security screenings, surreal little village of restaurants and shops within the terminal, and finally the waiting alongside other travelers who stretch, bicker, bob to music, babble on the phone, sleep, and listen for their boarding group to be called. Explanatory narration in the second-person is filtered through the lens of the family's older sibling. It eases readers through these experiences, reassuring them with clarity, candor, and repeated words, most often the word sometimes, which emerges as a comforting acknowledgement of expected variance. "Sometimes you get something to drink. Sometimes you get something to eat. / Sometimes there is a movie to watch. Sometimes there are people to talk to. / Sometimes the plane is bouncy, but most of the time it is smooth." Readers drift along with the easygoing voice, much like a traveler gliding along a moving walkway. Brightly colored people and baggage fill double-page spreads, nudging readers to look closely at faces, stances, attitudes, and activities to spin narratives for the travelers. Strategically placed text, with modest typeface and subtle sizing, makes the story-building straightforward and the busy pictures navigable. Instructional, comforting, and threaded with multiple air-travel story strands, this travelogue delivers at many altitudes. (Picture book. 2-6)

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Starred review from March 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-Nobody knows what's become of Monkey except the preschooler who packed him, tail protruding from the zipper of her suitcase. And so Brown begins this brilliant little book that weaves a Knuffle Bunny-esque narrative into an expository introduction to air travel. It's raining in the city, and a mixed-race family of four take a cab to the airport on their way to see the grandparents. The first page shows a single car on a long, flat drive to their destination, but the page turn opens up to the chaos of the airport itself. Brown bumps up our interest by following several groups of passengers as she takes readers through the procedures and places in an airport, from drop-off to pick-up. There's the soccer team, a cranky old woman and her complacent husband, and a family of look-alike redheads. At check-in, security, and the gate and on the plane, careful readers will notice Monkey making a parallel journey. Each page offers a simple narrative reflection of the India ink and watercolor illustrations in text small enough not to distract from the page's visual impact. Well-placed speech bubbles create personalities for an airport's vast cast. The girl and her monkey are reunited at the end of the trip, and readers have learned what to expect when they fly. Planes fascinate children, and there is no shortage of books to develop that interest. There's always room for one more, especially one this good. VERDICT A must-buy for most libraries.-Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter School, Providence

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016
Preschool-G A boy, his little sister, and their parents pack for a trip, taxi to the airport, and stand in line. Maybe missing Monkey (the stuffed animal packed in her checked luggage) or maybe alarmed by the security scanner, the young girl cries, but she is soon distracted by her surroundings in the bustling airport. After waiting at the gate, they board the plane and fly to another airport, where the father's parents welcome them. It's a happy reunion for this biracial family, and soon they head to the beach. The clearly written text is straightforward, telling what happens in the airports and on the plane, while occasional comments from the main characters and their fellow travelers add personality to the narrative. The intricate ink-and-watercolor illustrations offer a treasure trove of discoveries for detail-minded kids, who will pore over the scenes, notice recurring characters, absorb speech-balloon conversations, and follow silent subplots unfolding in successive scenes, such as Monkey's adventure in the plane's luggage compartment. Informative and entertaining enough to be handed out by any airline hoping to ease preflight fears.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016
An (interracial) family leaves its city apartment for the airport. Narrated by the older brother, a straightforward but lively main text provides basic information while dialogue bubbles and pictures tell a more complex--and wildly entertaining--story. Brown's simultaneously clean and detailed India ink and watercolor pictures follow dozens of characters on the flight. Sky-high in concept, execution, and kid appeal.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from May 1, 2016
As an (interracial) family of four scrambles to leave its city apartment for the airport, readers get used to the book's approach: as narrated by the older brother, a straightforward but lively main text provides basic information ("When you go to the airport, you can take a car, a van, a bus, or even a trainWhen you reach your gate, you wait. And wait and wait and waitYou buckle your seatbelt tight across your lap") while dialogue bubbles and the pictures tell a much more complex -- and wildly entertaining -- story. Brown's simultaneously clean and detailed India ink and watercolor pictures follow dozens of characters who are all traveling on the same flight as our central family: a businesswoman on a cell phone ("blah blah blah blah"); a girls' soccer team; an anxious elderly couple ("I hope you have the boarding passes"); a woman in a wheelchair; a man traveling alone with a (mostly unhappy) infant. There is even a subplot involving Monkey, the little sister's lost stuffed animal, executed brilliantly in the illustrations. Following each story strand to the end is rewarding, and Brown often subverts expectations or injects humor. For instance, the annoying cell-phone woman turns out to have been flying home to her small son; the baby who cried the whole flight stops as soon as the plane lands. (Fortunately -- and miraculously -- Monkey arrives safely.) Cameos by Amelia Earhart and the Wright brothers add even more amusement. This is one of those books you could look at forever and never run out of new things to notice, smile at, and fold into the next reading. Sky-high in concept, execution, and kid appeal; the only airport book you'll ever need. martha v. parravano

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)