SCHOOL IN THE SKY

An exceptionally amusing idea. Time -- around 1970. Place -- Parsons Corners, somewhere in the U.S.A. Miss Peckett, a clever caricature of most children's idea of a teacher, finds her eight pupils are having a difficult time with geography. Feeling that they would understand it better if they could see for themselves, she rents a plane from the Fly-Yourself Company, has a special compartment built for Upsadaisy, 926 pounds of cow (to insure fresh milk), and sets off on a round-the -world flight. Mr. Pudderkin, who knows news value when he sees it, finances the trip and agrees to publish the log in the Chicago Daily Bugle. With only a book of instructions on ""how to fly a plane"" which is, of course, twice as modern and stream-lined as ours today -- off they go. First stop, Greenland, on to the North Pole, Siberia, over the Gobi Desert, into China, over Mt. Everest, on to the South Pole, Cape Horn, the Argentine, up the Amazon (first chance to do their laundry) and home. There are stops along the way, and the book is a perfect setup for humorous situations and funny adventures, of which the authors take full advantage, while tucking in a reasonable amount of geographic information. A shade too long, but very good fun on the whole.