Customer Reviews

Me and My Flying Machine

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How can I succintly sum up just how inspiring this book was to me as a child? The tale of a young boy who decides to build a plane in his barn and imagines all the positive actions he'll achieve in it, from winning races to helping people out. A boy who, when his dreams are hopelessly dashed, is unperturbed and already looking to the next challenge. Masterful! Like Paulo Coelho for the younger generation! Whatsmore, Beautifully illustrated and one book your child will read over and over and over. Trust me; I did!
p.s. have bought a copy to read to my niece and my own children when they appear on the scene!

If I could only explain just how this book has inspired me. I was givin this book from my parents in the early 70's and somehow till this day has been a part of me and Im 35 now! I love how the boys discovery leads to a creation and how his dreams inspire his desire to perfect his project. Win races, rescue people, deliver mail, give birds a place to rest when flying. When he decides it is just right, he finally tries to get it out of the barn just to have it fall to pieces! Even after his terrible failure he still isnt willing give up trying to create..."tomarrow Ill build a rowboat" Terrific.

This is a wonderful old book to share with your children today! They just don't seem to make children's books today the way I remember them to be in my youth. This one is just brimming with imagination! The illustrations are amazing, just full of color and detail! And a fantastic message in the end ~ If at first you don't suceed, try try again!

I was in third grade in 1978 and this book was a favorite back in the reading nook of our country classroom. I've thought about it many, many times over the years, and tonight I decided to find a copy. Not remembering the full name (after all, I'm 41 now!) I searched on "flying machine" and there it was! Reading the other reviews reacquainted me with the wonderful storyline, and I'm looking very forward to getting it to add to my stash of favorite childhood books which I will, with supreme excitement, share with my future grandchildren!
If you're looking for a companion book to fill out your order of this great one, look at "Donkey, Donkey" by Roger Duvoisin. Another gem! Happy reading and reminiscing!

This is a very imaginative story about a young boy who builds a flying machine and then, in a dream, imagines all the fantastic things he can create and do with his flying machine, from delivering mail to Eskimos to letting birds rest on his wings. It's a very precious story by Marianna Mayer that makes use of Mercer Mayer's delightful illustrations.

The only thing I didn't like about the story is the ending. Please do not SPAM my review based on this simple comment. It's an ADORABLE story that has value for kids of all ages and for generations in the past and in the future. My comment isn't negative so much as the fact that I wanted the story to continue. Since he ended with a destroyed flying machine and made plans instead to build a rowboat, I would like to have seen a follow up volume with the rowboat! :)

Sonya Haskins
author of Homeschooling for the Rest of Us: How Your One-of-a-Kind Family Can Make Homeschooling and Real Life Work (Bethany House, 2010)

I have been searching for this book for such a long time. I must have read it a million times as a child in the 70's. It was my absolute favorite. Now that I am an early childhood educator (and a mother), I can't wait to share this book with my students and my children!

I remember reading this book over and over as a small child. I read it so many times that I wore out the binder on the book. It's a story of a small boy and how he builds a flying machine out of scrapes and paints it with all the colors he can find in the family shed and takes off on an adventure around the world. I would love to find this book and keep it around for future generations to read, not only this story but all the other wonderful stories written by Marianna Mayer. Thank you.....C.M.....

Just like Mr. Phil Schreiber said in his review below, this book is one I have remembered my entire life. My brother received this book for a B-Day gift back in the mid 70's and I was fascinated by it. I am now 36, and still can see the drawings. This book enspired me to dream...even if the dream isn't worth dreaming about. What a gem this story truely is!