Customer Reviews

Flying

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Each picture has from one to four words describing it - from boarding to landing a plane, from the viewpoint of one watching, not riding. My son has every page memoraized! This is a good, simple book for a toddler who likes planes. There is not much 'meat' to the book; it's not meant to educate about planes or dazzle with rhythm or rhyme.

Whether writing about trains, bicycle races, harbors, trucks, or airports, Donald Crews has a mastery of clear, uncluttered shapes, both in pictures and in the organization of his stories. Somehow his illustrations are both soothing and stimulating. They're gentle, and yet Crews can surprise us with dramatically beautiful drawings as well. For anyone who's read a Crews book, the text (in Helvetica Black Italic font) has a warm familiarity. Typically, he starts slowly, and then introduces his audience to some slight twist that builds suspense, followed by a happy conclusion. That's one reason why "Flying" is an excellent book for kids who may have a fear of flying--as well as kids who love airplanes.

He begins with his typically masterful blue tones, but adds orange and mauve and greens as the backdrop for a small airport (the pictures are done with gouache and airbrush). He uses single words and short phrases to describe the opening scenes: "Boarding." "Taxiing to the runway." "Ready." (The propellers start to spin.) "Take off." (The plane begins to fly, and we can see its shadow on the runway. As the plane climbs, Crews' text remains descriptive and simple, but the illustrations become more abstract. We see complex, patterned, overhead views of vehicles on criss-crossing highways, and the geometry of rooftops, domes, towers, and a ballpark. (The text reads, "Flying over cities") At "Flying across the country," we see the transition from the city to suburbs to a post-impressionist view of farmland dotted with foliage, with the squares and rectangles of farmhouses and barns. While the illustrations are sophisticated, they're totally comprehensible. Crews takes familiar scenes, and teaches kids and adults new ways of looking at them. The plane's flight continues, and it's comforting how the plane just goes on its way, unperturbed by the terrain. We see it "flying high over mountains," and then into the clouds (looking like waves of snowballs and whipped cream). There's perhaps a little anxiety as the clouds partially obscure the plane, but on the next page it emerges above them, without effort or strain, its shadow visible on the wavy clouds beneath it.

Crews also pays attention to time, especially evening and night, when journeys come to a close and safety is paramount. As the sky darkens, it's "time to head down," and there's a magnificent picture of the airplane flying across downtown buildings lit by hundreds of windows. We see the silhouetted plane descend into a safe landing, and the happy passengers disembark to greet their friends waiting on the ground. Another great work by Donald Crews, and if you like this, you're almost certain to love his other quietly exciting adventures. Highly recommended for toddlers and the beginning reader.

My 21 month old son loves this book! This is great for a child who is already interested in planes. The text is very simple, which makes it easy for a young child to "read"; simply by describing what he/she is seeing in the picture. The illustrations are also very clear and colorful.

I highly recommend all of Mr. Crews' books. He writes in a style that is very easy for toddlers and pre-schoolers to relate to. Furthermore, his illustrations are positively delightful! However, I recommend this book even more because it was instrumental in easing my son's fear of flying and airplanes. I bought this book and read it to him before our airplane trips and I take it on the airplane and read it to him there as well. As the plane is in the various stages of flight, I show him that part of the book. I am not kidding, we went from a toddler who had to be carried on to the plane kicking and screaming to a kid that is excited about airtravel!

My 2 year old daughter loves this book, so I am buying a copy to take with us on an upcoming plane trip. She loves to hear it over & over, and I think it will give her a better understanding of what will happen when we are flying (especially the waiting on the runway). For Crews fans, take a look for pictures in this book representing well known Crews books (Freight Train, Truck, School Bus, etc.) Once I recognized one, I enjoyed looking for others.

My toddler really loves Donald Crews' books because they're very colorfully illustrated and the wording is minimal. She especially likes this book because she's been flying in a small plane several times and can "see" what's going on. What's especially fun is seeing how quickly she picks up what's going on in the text.

Also recommended Donald Crews' books: Freight Train, Parade.

Flying is part of Donald Crews' series of books about vehicles, and this one takes a propeller-driven airplane as its focus. With the simplest of text, he follows the small airplane as passengers board, through takeoff, and rising above the city. (Fans of Crews will recognize other books in the series in the city scene below, including Truck, School Bus, Carousel, Harbor, and Freight train.) Then the plane rises into the clouds, traveling until it arrives in another city at night.

This book is a good preschooler's introduction to the concept of flying in a plane. It satisfies a preschooler's curiosity about airplanes and ties together many books in his interesting series. It's a great choice for both read-aloud and self-entertainment.

Great book--we used it to prepare our toddler for her first plane trip. It is one of her favorites, though I'm not sure she really got the connection while we were flying:). We're loaning it to family who plan to travel with their toddler soon.

Even if this book didn't have any text it would still be a great children's book. Donald Crews is one of the best children's book illustrators ever! The great illustrations combined with the simple text make this a perfect book for preschool aged children.

My 18 month old boy loves this book. Donald Crews illustration style, with big, bold visuals, allows him to easily enjoy the story as it moves from scene to scene. The richly colored landscapes give him so much to look at, and are a nice alternative to the very simple pictures of typical baby books. My only negative is that it is not a board book, so one needs to make sure baby won't destroy the pages while looking at it. ('Truck' by Donald Crews is a board book, and is very good)