Cleared for Takeoff

The key word to describe this book is in the subtitle: "The Ultimate Book of Flight." This compendium of flight facts and fun covers the history of early planes, copters, rockets, and even how to make a paper airplane. However, these facts are not arranged in the customary encyclopedic format. The witty captions serve as chapter headings: "Flying in a Milk Bottle" explores polar aviation, for instance. The 120 entries, most appearing on a densely typeset double-page spread but a few extending over more pages, focus on pilots' interactions with flying machines and how they shaped world history. The variety of topics is mind-boggling. There are the expected biographical sketches of such people as the Wright brothers and Charles Lindbergh, but the wealth of coverage will produce facts about things readers hadn't even begun to think about. A chapter called "Freight Dogs" covers the use of aircraft to carry cargo, and then there is the story of the man who invented the ejector seat. A few diagrams and infographics help to break the walls of words. A lot of information is packed into this hefty book, but the unusual format will unfortunately not make it useful for research, especially since there is no index. For anybody with an interest in aviation, this will prove a fascinating resource for browsing. Wings up! (Nonfiction. 10 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2016

Gr 4-8-This detailed history of flight will delight readers with everything a budding aviation enthusiast needs to dive into this fascinating topic, including poems, essays, fact cards, and even a few flight-based experiments. White discusses flying for pleasure and for the military. While the writing is directed at more sophisticated readers, the brief essays, such as "Dead Heat: The Zeppelin Race," would make for an appropriate read-aloud in classrooms. With lovely artwork, photos (with blueprints), an engrossing narrative, and compelling facts, this volume will undoubtedly find an audience in school libraries. One caveat: as the author provides few direct citations, those looking for research texts might consider other titles, such as DK's Flight: The Complete History. VERDICT A great addition to middle school libraries seeking an engaging overview of the history of aviation.-Sarah Knutson, American Canyon Middle School, CA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2016
Grades 7-12 This solid and heavy coffee-table book is stuffed full of the kind of captivating information, attractive photos, and diagrams that will keep even casual browsers reading throughout the day. Some entries follow a traditional format, featuring pages full of dense but engaging articles on topics ranging from man's earliestand mythicalattempts to fly (Icarus) to modern-day developments (drones). Other pages offer great, unexpected pieces on diverse topics such as superhero flight capabilities; bird superlatives; unsuccessful flying machines; books, films, and songs about flying; pigs in space; and famous fictional pilots (Maverick and Goose, Steve Austin, Ted Striker). Throw in archival photos, drawings and illustrations, charts and graphs, and activities and experiments, and you have an absolutely irresistible compendium. This has no source notes or index, although the table of contents is very detailed, but still, notwithstanding the slight British slant, this should be a hit with military and aviation buffs, report writers, and casual browsers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)