Airport

Both of my children loved this book at about age 2-3. In both cases, it made them excited about flying, and about airports and airplanes in general.The pictures are outstanding, with terrific use of perspective. The panoramic view of the interior of the aircraft cabin is especially eye-catching. The text is very simple, and elegantly concise, with just a few words on each page.The narrative, such as it is, is told mainly through the pictures. The group of passengers is followed from when they arrive at the airport until their plane takes off, although some pictures (of the interior of the control tower and the cockpit) do not show the passengers. Many of the passengers are easily identified from page to page (the family of three, the man with the cowboy hat, or my daughter's favorite - the man with the beard and glasses), if you want to trace their individual journeys, but this is pretty much optional; the text does not mention specific passengers.The book is quite old, dating from 1982, but has aged remarkably well. A more modern book would make more mention of going through security, and operators of 747s (which were fairly new at the time of printing) replaced the upstairs lounge shown in the book with more seating pretty quickly. Also, the clothes have dated somewhat - the women almost all wear dresses, hats for men and women are common, and people are generally dressed more formally than would be the case now. But these are very minor quibbles. And on the other hand, I was especially impressed by the fact that the book depicts an ethnically diverse group of passengers, which is not typical for a book of that vintage.For our kids, we have paired it with Maisy Goes on a Plane which, while aimed at older children, does cover security, and the experience of actually flying (whereas Airport stops at take-off). Between the two of them, these books capture the key elements of flying quite nicely for small children (although neither really prepares them for the interminable queues!)

I ordered this book for my 16 month old daughter to help her get ready for her first plane trip. My husband and I had been pointing out planes in the sky to her, so when this book arrived, she instantly zeroed in on the illustrations of planes in the air. It quickly became her new favorite book, and she wanted to read it every night before bed, plus several times throughout the day. Before long, she became interested in the entire story: people arriving at the airport, checking in, preparing the plane, boarding, and taking off.The illustrations are bright, colorful, and nicely detailed. My daughter especially enjoyed little touches like the cat in the carrier at check-in, the colorful flags atop the terminal, and the boy and his parents who appear on several pages. (She always stops to point out "mama" and "dada.") The words themselves are simple, and a nice complement to the far more involved illustrations.We bought the paperback version, which made it a great size to tuck into a bag to read at the airport and on the plane itself. Having tackled her first flight, if anything my daughter is even more interested in this book now. Written in 1982, the content is still quite relevant and accurate, even if some minor details have changed. (My husband and I smiled to see so many of the passengers on the plane reading books--no laptops or iPads here!)

Anything by Byron Barton is great!

I love this book, because it explains to kids what to expect when they get to the airport. It also explains the different parts of an airplane. There's a page that illustrates a plane taking off the runway, so I read and show them the picture on this page at take off so it's easier for them to understand the motions of the plane. On several occasions, the flight attendants have provided my kids goodies and a chance to meet the pilot and see the cockpit when they have seen them reading the book. I bought this book when my now 6 year old was less than 2 years old and I have used it every single time we go on an airplane. She now explains it to her younger siblings and asks to see specific pages in the book when we are at the airport. LOVE IT!

I got this a month before a trip and it really helped get my 2yo comfortable with what was going to happen at the airport, including how the takeoff entails going "faster and faster, then up in the air."It's been a few months now and he still demands that we read it on a daily basis over and over. There are a few things I really like:1) It's not a board book, but the pages are plasticized and hard to rip.2) Each page is one big airport scene, and the drawings are very colorful and full of details. We often play games like "find the man with a beard" or "find the mama holding a baby."I think it should be updated to place more emphasis on the security area. The x-ray machine is just a detail on the corner of one of these drawings. I ad-lib a lot to add something I think is important, like waiting in line to check bags and get boarding passes. The images are there, they just need a narration. And sometimes I change the way something is phrased. One page goes: "'Buckle your seatbelts,' the flight attendant says," and I invert the order of those phrases because I think children remember better the last part of a statement.I'm nitpicking, but it is still a great book. My son loves it, and it truly made my trip alone with a 2yo much easier. He seemed to be more relaxed in a new environment because he knew what was happening. He proudly pointed out things he recognized: "Boarding passes!" "The runway!" "Fasten your seatbelt, mama!" so cute :)