Let’s Fly a Plane! Launching Into the Science of Flight with Aerospace Engineering

There are likely two kinds of people reading this review. Those of you asking why there is a book for early school children about how planes fly and those who know of Chris Ferrie’s other books and who know that this is what he does. He takes complex and sophisticated science topics and presents them in a simple way for a young audience in books like 8 Little Planets, There was a Black Hole That Swallowed the Universe and Goodnight Lab. There is also the “Baby University” board book series including such works as Quantum Physics for Babies, Rocket Science for Babies and Organic Chemistry for Babies. He has a way of approaching a topic truthfully yet with a straightforward clarity.

This story starts with young Red Kangaroo (a clue that Chris Ferrie now lives in Australia) wondering how airplanes fly. Since she knows Dr. Chris (yes, this is the same Chris), she finds him to explain how they fly, something which he is happy to do. All of the facts are good, and they are presented in a simple and coherent manner. At the end of the story, the pair go for a flight. As occurs in many nonfiction works, there is a glossary after the story with a short quiz. There are also experiments kids can try. The first is about paper airplanes and trying different styles with flaps up or down and seeing how far they fly. The second is to make a mini rocket with a straw. This one also suggests a few variations. The last page reveals what the typical results would be, just like for an engineering lab, and has answers to the aforementioned quiz.

Chris Ferrie, a physicist, mathematician, researcher and lecturer who works in quantum physics and engineering, is certainly qualified to present information on aerodynamics. He is also a father and seems to be motivated to author the kind of books that kids interested in science would like to have in their collections. Parents who enjoy science would also want to be able to find this kind of book to read to their child as children are never too young to be introduced to science, be it nature, physics, chemistry or any other type.

The appealing illustrations are simple, mostly large areas of soft colours with fuzzy edges that make it look like they were done with chalk. Houses and mountains in the background give a nice sense of place. The illustrations of Dr. Chris do look like him. And the scientific pictures are also clear and accurate. For example, there is a realistic picture of an airplane on a blackboard, cut and expanded to show a cross-section of the wing during the explanation of lift. The diagrams of the airplane with the forces acting on it are exactly the same as you would get in an engineering class. They add more information to the words in a way that is typical of science – a picture aids in understanding each of the concepts.

While Let’s Fly a Plane! is a good book, there are some slight flaws starting with too much of Dr. Chris; he is on almost every page of the scientific descriptions. There is a contrast between the simple question that Red Kangaroo asks and the answer which seems a bit more detailed than required. She wanted to jump high and fly while the explanation is how an airplane flies. Red Kangaroo is cute and enthusiastic, an apt choice to represent a child seeking information although somewhat jarring at times in her dark red colour in the illustrations. Perhaps we Canadians do not expect a kangaroo to represent a child. Still, Let’s Fly a Plane! is a nice read, and, if you like aerodynamics, go for it.