A is for Airplane: An Aviation Alphabet (Science Alphabet)
In the Alphabet Series’ usual cheerful style, each spread in this picture book combines a quick rhyme for each letter, a dramatic watercolor painting, and a long detailed sidebar packed with history and technology. Some of the rhymes feel trite (for Helicopters: “H is here to save the day, / helping those who are in harm’s way”). But the science and engineering will grab older readers, from the facts about the International Space Station (orbiting the Earth every hour and a half at an altitude of over 200 miles) to the details about becoming a pilot. Then there is the fascinating history of the Tuskegee Airmen, including the prejudice they suffered and their achievements; the biographies of pioneers Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and the Wright Brothers; and the National Air and Space Museum today. The back matter includes “fun questions and answers,” but no bibliography. Grades 2-4. --Hazel Rochman