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HOW TO EAT AN AIRPLANE

Name: HOW TO EAT AN AIRPLANE
Author: Peter Pearson
ISBN: 978-0-06-232062-9

From the Bad Idea Book Club series

by Peter Pearson ; illustrated by Mircea Catusanu ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2016

This series opener is a successful combination of etiquette book and airplane cookery: who’d have thunk it? (Informational...

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A man ate an airplane. This is true. Though this is not his story, Pearson uses it to ground a surprisingly informative book about the technology (and etiquette).

As Pearson explains at the closure of this crazy business, a gentleman by the name of Michel Lotito ate a Cessna 150, which, granted, is not a Boeing 747, but even so....In the book proper he gives this curious act a suitable touch of insanity, graced with Emily Post–like commands on the proper etiquette of airplane-eating. The best venue is a party (for a little help from your friends). Your invitees must be sent tickets of invitation and then met at the gate. Serve jet-fuel aperitifs to wash down the crunchy mechanical canapes. Pearson tosses in some humdinger words—aileron, fuselage, the Tardiness Toast: "To friends and clocks and paradox. / I'm usually on time. Oops"—but he makes them go down even easier than Cessna 150 parts. Meanwhile, Catusanu's artwork is full of hard-candy color, inviting and playful, with a relatively diverse cast of human characters among the partygoers and even a dog and a cat. Even the "Airplane Facts" at the end of the book are designed to both amuse and instruct. "Planes are heavy. Just the paint on a commercial airliner weighs between 400 and 1,000 pounds!"

This series opener is a successful combination of etiquette book and airplane cookery: who’d have thunk it? (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: May 24, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-232062-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW TO WALK A DUMP TRUCK
by Peter Pearson ; illustrated by Mircea Catusanu

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.

After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026

ISBN: 9780063436121

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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THE PUMPKIN THIEF

From the Leaf Thief series

by Alice Hemming ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2026

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.

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Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.

Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.

More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)