Airplane

My son loves airplanes and anything BIG and LOUD. I would definitely recommend this book...

Not quite living up to the usual DK quality, this is still a nice set of spreads on aircraft in all their splendor. The layout is a little funky at times with curvy text and confusing boxes. I'm also not sure I appreciate how a space shuttle qualifies for inclusion here, but it too draws oohs and aahs from the pre-K crowd (the publisher recommended 9-12 age group is way off; my five year year old's first comment was "too little, too short" - five years from now his expectations are likely to be even greater). The facts presented are a little weird at times, and I was left frantically making up answers to the obvious questions like "how fast does *that* one go? How high can that glider go?" - instead I now know that Blackbird pilots heat their lunch by pressing it against the cockpit window. Still, this title offers decent coverage of the concept, history, and mechanics of flight, from hang gliders to 747s, and little fingers are apt to be seen turning the pages exictedly to find out what's next.