Exploring Flight

Why do airplanes look the way they do? Why can’t birds fly when they’re first born? And why do some paper planes fly farther than others?

Exploring Flight is the perfect nonfiction resource for all these questions and more. Discover everything there is to know about flight from Ada Twist, Scientist—from information about creatures that fly, to the history of aircraft, to modern technology that allows us to soar through the air faster than ever.

Fans of Ada Twist who are interested in flight will enjoy reading Exploring Flight and learning about how an object flies because of thrust, drag, lift, and weight. However, some readers may become frustrated by the quickly changing topics. For example, the text includes a poem written by Ada, brainstorming ideas and questions that Ada has. One page asks, “What could make a penguin fly?” The brainstorming answers include the following. “1. Wear a hat with a propeller. 2. I could make parrot wings for them to flap, flap, flap. 3. Buy a ticket on South Pole Airlines.”

The book’s format will appeal to young readers because each page includes large pictures, Ada’s drawings, and brightly colored fonts. The informational text appears in type and the important terms are in bold font. However, the bolded words are not always defined and there is no glossary. To distinguish Ada’s thoughts and questions, they appear in brown font that looks like handwriting. Many of Ada’s ideas add a little silliness to the topic. For example, Ada wonders “If a cat toots, will it scoot? If it toots a lot, will it fly to the moon?”

Exploring Flight will teach readers about many different aspects of flight and includes information about planes, birds, rockets, spiders and hot air balloons. There are also several pages that list important people such as Paul Cornu, who invented the first helicopter model. In addition, the back of the book includes two fun science experiments that will excite younger readers.

If your little reader wonders why things are able to fly, then Exploring Flight will delight. The book uses kid-friendly examples to help explain difficult concepts. Plus, the nonfiction book has plenty of fun illustrations as well as pictures from the Netflix Series. The text is broken up into manageable sections with one to seven sentences per page. However, readers may need help understanding some of the complex ideas. Exploring Flight mixes a little silliness in with fun facts to teach readers all about flight. To learn about different scientists readers should also read the picture book series Amazing Scientists by Julia Finley Mosca. Another excellent picture book series that will pique reader’s interest in space flight is Mousetronaut by Mark Kelly.

Sexual Content

• None

Violence

• None

 Drugs and Alcohol

• None

Language

• None

Supernatural

• None

Spiritual Content

• None