Little Red Plane

An oversized, bold cutout book follows a day in the life of a little red plane, offering sturdy cardstock flaps, pull tabs, and other manipulative part that invite young readers to examine every part of the plane.

Even the Wright brothers might have applauded the snazzy paper engineering in this die-cut book, a literal flight of fancy. Pull-tabs and flaps let armchair aviators guide a red, twin-propellor beauty from takeoff ("Check the wing flaps... remove the wheel chock") to landing. Among the clever touches here: as readers shift a steering wheel from side to side, the view through the windshield shifts, too; a cardboard microphone is attached via a cord to the cockpit's radio; fastened by a similar cord, the nozzle of a refueling truck fits into the plane's gas tank. Wilson-Max's text strikes just the right blend of precision and exuberance ("Whee! It's a beautiful day for flying") and his vibrant artwork, with its boldly outlined, chunky images, suggests the work of an airborne Lucy Cousins. Altogether first-class. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.