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Flight School
Author:
Judge, Lita
Illustrator:
Judge, Lita
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Series:
Flight school
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Class:
Easy
Age: 3-8
Language: English
Descriptors: Picture Book
Demand: Moderate
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LC: PZ7.J894
Grade: P-3
Print Run: 50000
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ISBN-13: 9781442481770
LCCN: 2012046161
Imprint: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
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Pub Date: 04/15/2014
Availability: Available
List: $18.99
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 27 cm
H 10",
W 10",
D 0.4",
0.98 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Brodart Sources:
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Brodart's For Youth Interest Titles
Brodart's For Youth Interest: Popular
Brodart's Insight Catalog: Children
Brodart's TOP Juvenile Titles
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Bibliographies:
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Children's Core Collection, 22nd ed.
Children's Core Collection, 23rd ed.
Children's Core Collection, 24th ed.
Texas 2x2 Reading List
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Awards:
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BCCB Starred Reviews
Horn Book Guide Titles, Rated 1 - 4
School Library Journal Starred Reviews
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Starred Reviews:
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Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
School Library Journal
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TIPS Subjects:
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Birds
Humorous Fiction
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BISAC Subjects: |
JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Birds
JUVENILE FICTION / Humorous Stories
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / New Experience
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LC Subjects:
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Flight, Fiction
Penguins, Fiction
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SEARS Subjects: |
Flight, Fiction
Penguins, Fiction
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Reading Programs: |
Accelerated Reader Level:
2.1
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Points: 0.5
Lexile Level:
490
Reading Counts Level:
1.4
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Points: 1.0
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| Annotations |
| Brodart's TOP Juvenile Titles | 04/01/2014 |
| If you think penguins can't fly, then you haven't met Penguin. Readers watch a determined penguin embark on a quest to take to the skies, one way or another. 40pp., Color Ill. |
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| Starred Reviews: |
| Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books | 06/01/2014 |
| R. 4-6 yrs. Little Penguin believes he was born to fly, so he ditches Antarctica for a further-north avian flight school run by a heron-like teacher; unfortunately, even after weeks of lessons, he's still a lead balloon when it comes to getting airborne. His flight school pals have an idea, though, and wrap his wings with feathers attached with some fishing line. Penguin flaps and sure enough, he takes flight-with the help of a flamingo, who has grabbed the fishing line and is towing the overjoyed Penguin through the air ("Penguin was right. He did have the soul of an eagle. He'd just needed help with the technical parts"). Penguin leaves content and soon returns-with an ostrich who also wants to fly. Judge writes with a simple clarity that avoids any preachiness, and the streamlined emotion will resonate with young listeners: "Penguin was too brokenhearted to even wave good-bye. His teachers didn't know what to do." The watercolor and pencil illustrations are warm, robust, and thoughtfully composed, many positioned against a simple sunlit backdrop, with the tall flamingo frequently only partially seen due to its height. Penguin is a charmingly tubby and stout guy, and the skillful positioning of his red flight goggles visually convey his emotions: when he's happy, the earpieces flip up jauntily, and when he's sad, they dejectedly droop. This could be a useful tool for many kinds of discussions-from the adaptations that some kids need in a classroom, to creative problem solving, to perseverance-or a cheerful addition to a unit or story hour about birds or penguins. JH. 34p. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, c2014. |
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| School Library Journal | 03/01/2014 |
| K-Gr 2. Little Penguin, who has the self-proclaimed "soul of an eagle," wants to fly. Steering his motorboat into a dockside flight school for birds, he announces to the other feathery students and teacher that "[he] was hatched to fly." Teacher and Flamingo are unconvinced, but they allow Little Penguin to take lessons anyway. Outfitted with goofy red googles, Little Penguin certainly has the will, if not the talent. Even after practicing for weeks and enthusiastically jumping off the dock with a loud "Geronimo!" he still flops deep into the ocean instead of soaring above. Brokenhearted, he sets sail for home. But then Flamingo has an idea. Tying feathers and a fishing line onto Little Penguin, Flamingo helps lift him skyward while Little Penguin does his best to "Flip, flap, flip, flap, flap." Soon, he soars as he had always dreamed of doing. Alas, it doesn't last. Unfortunately, even with the soul of an eagle, "he still has the body of a little round penguin." Nevertheless, his dream achieved, Little Penguin leaves flight school one happy little bird. So happy, in fact, that he soon returns with another friend with his own dreams of flying-an ostrich with the "soul of a swallow." Judge successfully balances the humor in the storytelling, the drawings, and the situations. Rendered in watercolor and pencil and situated on a bright yellow background, the illustrations perfectly fit this delightful and charming book. Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA. 40p. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2014. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| BookPage | 04/09/2014 |
| Ages 3-8. Lita Judge's too-funny Flight School is the tale of a misfit (another anatomically challenged penguin, as it happens) who, with the help of his mates, graduates with--there's no better way to say it--flying colors. School is in full swing, and birds of every feather have gathered near a dock to try out their wings, including one latecomer--a penguin who's more than ready to soar. "I have the soul of an eagle," he says. Teacher, a stern-looking bird with a pince-nez balanced on his beak, regards his tardy pupil doubtfully but allows him to join the group. After weeks of practice, the class is ready for flight day. Penguin takes off, but his flippers fail, and he belly-flops into the ocean. When he resurfaces, he's ready to quit. But his chums come up with a clever way of getting him into the air. In the end, Penguin is so happy with his flight-school experience that he brings a new student to class--an ostrich "with the soul of a swallow." Uh-oh. Ford's storytelling genius shines through her richly detailed watercolor and pencil illustrations. Her birds have character to spare. Overall grade: A+. BookPage Children’s Corner Web Exclusive Review. BOOKPAGE, c2014. |
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| Booklist | 04/01/2014 |
| Grades K-2. A portly little penguin in bright-red flight goggles believes he has "the soul of an eagle," so he sets out to learn to fly. The teacher at flight school (a pink flamingo) kindly includes him in the flapping lessons, but when it comes time for his first liftoff, he instead plunges with a great "Gablub!" into the sea. "Penguins just aren't built to fly," says the teacher. But the flamingo pities poor Penguin, and soon the chubby flightless bird is trussed up with a fishing-line harness and hitched to the flamingo for his very first flight. Satisfied by finally fulfilling his dream of flying, the penguin happily heads home only to return later with a much-larger, similarly flightless bird friend. Judge (Bird Talk, 2012) is well known for her lifelike watercolor-and-pencil illustrations of animals of all kinds, and she uses similarly realistic detail when rendering the birds here, though these creatures have charmingly cartoonish personalities befitting the offbeat story. Little ones who struggle to meet their goals will delight in persevering Penguin. Hunter, Sarah. 40p. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2014. |
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| Horn Book | 05/01/2014 |
| Primary. Penguin, who has "the soul of an eagle," leaves the South Pole for flight school so he can learn to fly. Though the other birds are skeptical, a determined Penguin (in dashing aviator goggles) joins in flight practice. When he plunges into the ocean on his first real attempt ("Geronimo! / Gablub!"), he sadly admits defeat and gets ready to head home. Then Flamingo has the idea to attach feathers from other birds onto fishing-line wire and wrap the line around Penguin. When Penguin tries to fly again, he goes "up, up, up!" (with a little technical assistance from Flamingo). Though his flight doesn't last long, Penguin leaves flight school contented that his dream has come true...only to return with another flightless friend with "the soul of a swallow." Judge's soft watercolor and pencil illustrations are a colorful mix of yellows, browns, and green-blues. Variations in perspective and layout add visual interest to the book, as do portions told entirely through the illustrations. Judge keeps the primary visual focus on the birds, especially humorous little Penguin -- all plump and furry -- who may not have a body designed for flight but whose lovable enthusiasm and optimism will resonate with young readers with lofty dreams. cynthia k. ritter. 40pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2014. |
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| Horn Book Guide | 11/01/2014 |
| 2. Penguin leaves the South Pole for flight school. Though the other birds are skeptical, Penguin is determined. When instead of soaring he plunges into the ocean, Penguin sadly admits defeat and gets ready to head home. Then Flamingo has an idea. Variations in perspective throughout Judge's soft watercolor and pencil illustrations add visual interest to the book, as do parts told entirely through the pictures. cr. 40pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2014. |
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| Kirkus Reviews | 02/15/2014 |
| A small round penguin with lofty aspirations finds success of a sort in a sweet, if slight, appreciation of the resourcefulness of teachers. The sign near a cluster of wooden pilings in the middle of the water reads "FLIGHT SCHOOL / WE TEACH BIRDS TO FLY." "I was hatched to fly," announces Penguin upon his arrival from the South Pole. "I have the soul of an eagle," he assures the gently dubious Teacher. "Penguin and the other birdies practiced for weeks," but he succeeds only in plunging into the ocean--not terribly gracefully. He is ready to give up when a solution devised by Teacher and Flamingo has Penguin flying, if only for a few moments, and his happiness at this one-time achievement is lasting. Judge's edge-to-edge watercolor-and-pencil art is lively and amusing. Her various sea and shore birds--gulls, a pelican, a heron and a small owl among them--and their fledglings are just a little scruffy, and they are exaggeratedly, expressively funny in their anthropomorphic roles as teachers and students. Background shades of warm yellow, sea blue and green, and brown sand let the friendly, silly faces and bodies of the birds take center stage. Though Penguin doesn't discover any of his own true talents, young listeners will probably empathize with wanting something so far out of reach. (Picture book. 3-5). 40pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2014. |
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| Publishers Weekly | 02/17/2014 |
| Ages 4-8. Some are born to run; little Penguin believes he was "hatched to fly." That's why he's come all the way from the South Pole (via a bright red motorboat) to attend a tropical shoreline flight school run for birds by birds. "I have the soul of an eagle," he announces to the skeptical staff. Penguin soon discovers that zoology is destiny, no matter how nifty his red aviator goggles or how eager his new friends are to help get him aloft, which they manage to do, albeit momentarily, thanks to some engineering worthy of MacGyver. Up until the very final pages--in which Penguin returns to the flight school accompanied by a much larger friend whose aerodynamic potential is similarly problematic--the action has the tight comic pacing of a classic cartoon, one with heart to match Penguin's own. Judge (Red Hat), working in watercolor and pencil, takes her hero into the sun-bleached sky and into the drink (oops) with aplomb, while her finely delineated feathered cast does its endearing best to ignore the obvious. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Apr.). 40p. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2014. |
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9781442481770,dl.it[0].title
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