History of Flight Topic

Loosely based on Charles Lindberg’s success of being the first solo man to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, Kuhlmann embellishes the true story with that of a little mouse seeking a new life in America.

The story begins with the dangers for the little mouse living in London, while he explores possible ways to escape. Will our hero be captured by a cat, caught in a mouse trap or simply get trapped in his many attempts to be free?

The book is littered with stunning illustrations which tell the history of 1940s London through newspaper headlines and modes of transport including ships and train stations. Some of the most intricate pieces of artwork are the mouse’s sketches of his inventions. Readers can see the stages of design and how these improve and develop over time. They range from labelled diagrams and sketches of cogs and engines to his final design of the iconic aircraft.

Throughout the book you see that imagination has no limits, and readers can experience the process of trial and error, resulting in a masterpiece. The story goes on to explain the mouse’s successful journey to New York and readers are transported to the famous statues and architecture of the city itself (after many failed attempts).

At the end of the book, the author gives a short history of aviation, including facts about Otto Lilienthal, The Wright Brothers and Charles Lindbergh himself. A perfect way to inspire future pilots and aviation enthusiasts. This story can appeal to children young and old, due to the many depths of the tale. From the fictional story of a mouse, showing resilience and determination, to the real-life story of Lindbergh’s adventure and overcoming challenge. This is a true masterpiece!

Some books are made for sharing and ‘The Skies Above My Eyes’ is a wonderful example of one. The book folds out into a beautifully-illustrated 2.5m long double-sided journey up through the layers of the atmosphere, with small chunks of informative text along the way.

Starting on ground level with a girl standing on a busy street, readers can follow her gaze upwards to pass towering skyscrapers, various aircraft and space vehicles and finally to planets and stars. On the reverse, the girl lays on the grass at the foot of a mountain, looking up towards birds, paragliders, through weather systems, meteoroids and comets.

Much like its predecessor ‘The Street Beneath My Feet’, this book is likely to be a huge hit in the classroom as children will love gathering around the fully folded-out pages to pore over the many details and facts hidden around the different layers of the atmosphere. The text helps to direct the reader to tiny details that they may not have already spotted in the illustrations. Reading the information from the bottom to the top on one side and then the opposite way round on the reverse feels like jumping into a spacecraft and blasting off on a trip to the ends of the solar system and then descending back to the Earth’s surface.

Yuval Zommer’s bold and bright illustrations are hugely appealing and joyful as he masterfully captures the variation of hues and textures that make the skies above us such a visual delight. The thick paper of the book’s concertina pages feels durable and ready to withstand being opened out and refolded many times.

This is a book that young readers will love to treasure and share and one that will hold a strong appeal across the whole primary age range.

A reimagining of the childhood of Sophie Blanchard, one of the world’s first female aeronauts. Scaredy-Cat Sophie is afraid of everything. So when a balloonist comes to the town fair, Sophie is left behind while everyone else goes to watch him fly in his marvellous balloon. She’s far too frightened of the crowds, the commotion and even riding in a horse-drawn carriage. But if she could just be brave enough to face her fears, who knows where Sophie’s journey might take her.

A new addition to the Questioneers series sees Ada Twist ask lots of questions about flight. How do things fly? Is it a mystery? A puzzle or a quest? Why are aeroplanes the shape they are? Why can’t birds fly as soon as they are born?

This full-colour, non-fiction, early reader series based on the Ada Twist, Scientist  series is going to be so popular in the classroom for KS1 and lower Ks2. With age appropriate text, real images and diagrams, who wouldn’t want to read and learn more?

Discover everything there is to know about flight, including about creatures that fly and the history of aircraft. Curiosity has never been so easy to access and so brilliantly documented. I LOVE it and so will my students.

This story from Eoin Colfer and Katy Halford is part of Barrington Stoke’s ‘super-readable’ Little Gems series, which are short, illustrated chapter books specifically designed for readers just taking off with independent reading. This one is bags of fun and tells the tale of young Mariella, whose imaginative story champions girls engaging and leading in STEM. Mariella has a passion for inventing and a head brimming full of creative ideas to solve everyday problems, but the only remaining problem is that there are not enough hours in the day and Mariella wishes that she did not have to go to sleep!

What a brilliant book! Ten-year-old Matilda has decided to build a rocket to travel to the moon and back. This story is jam-packed with facts about what is needed for each stage. From gravity and orbits to fuel calculations, you find out how previous space missions solved each aspect of space travel and the science behind them. And of course, all the key questions about space missions are answered like how do you poop in space?!

Matilda is a brilliant role model for women in STEM – intelligent, sparky and ambitious. Her narrative voice is strong and entertaining.

The mix of science and the history of the Apollo missions makes this book absolutely fascinating, and the illustrations, font styles and chatty style make it an easy read for Key Stage 2.

With brilliant links to STEM subjects, this would be a particularly good addition as a reading-for-pleasure choice alongside the Earth and Space topic in Science. It also shows ambition, resilience and the ability to research and plan before undertaking a task.

The Fabulous Flyer is part of Terry Deary’s fantastic series of short, fictional chapter books set in different historical periods.

The Fabulous Flyer tells the story of Henri Giffard and his attempt to make the first ever powered flying machine in 1852, with the help of urchin girl Marie. He plans to fly the machine in front of a crowd of thousands.  The relationship between Marie and Mr Gifford is quite touching, and it always adds interest to a story when a villain is featured too.

Interestingly, at the back of the book, there is a section entitled ‘True History’ which also gives you a little more background information and facts on the subject of the book, including the development of flight during the Victorian period.

Art, biology, mathematics, physics, music and engineering – Leonardo Da Vinci was talented in these areas and many more and this is what Jake Williams explores in his beautifully illustrated and informative biography: Leonardo Da Vinci’s Life of Invention.

The life and work of this extraordinary polymath is carefully divided into sections on his background, his studies on the natural world, his inventions and works of art before looking at his legacy and relevance to our lives today. His timeline is plotted against maps of his travels: Vinci to Florence; Florence to Milan; Milan to France, which guide us through his life and most famous works.

Each section of the book is divided into double-page spreads which describes each of his most well-known ideas in easy-to-understand and relatable language for children. The ‘Inventions’ for example, includes pages on his designs for armoured cars, parachutes, crossbows, bats, helicopters, robot knights, diving suits and several more! Each topic is presented slightly different and includes both information and interesting facts to keep readers hooked in. On some occasions, Williams lets the pictures do the talking which makes the book enjoyable to dip in and out of whenever occasion suits.

The illustrations are stunning and you may recognise the distinctive vector designs and bold colour choices from some of his other titles such as ‘Darwin’s Voyage of Discovery’ and ‘Really Remarkable Reptiles.’

A highly informative and engaging text, which I would recommend for those interested in Da Vinci, art, inventions, design technology and history.

The female pilots of the Second World War are honoured in this exciting, empowering book that shows young girls can achieve anything. The year is 1927, and in America, England and Russia, three girls share a dream: to fly.

Against the odds, Hazel, Marlene and Lilya follow their hearts, enrolling in pilot courses and eventually flying for their countries in World War II. Join the adventures of these women as they display feats of incredible bravery in this beautiful book of sensitive and moving illustrations.

Zara Rutherford’s I Flew Around the World is an incredibly inspiring true story, chronicling her astonishing journey as the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the globe. This book is an illustrated account of ambition and determination in a record-breaking aviation achievement. The story is bound to capture the interest of any junior children fascinated by flight, adventure and exploration.

This colour-illustrated information text bubbles with insights into Zara’s meticulous preparations, the various places she touched down and the various experiences she encountered.  It’s a superb resource for KS2, particularly for those keen on non-fiction or seeking a contemporary female role model in STEM, offering a real-life testament to chasing ambitions and flying high!

This is an all-encompassing review of aviation history with beautiful illustrations, making it attractive to all ages in primary (and beyond!).

It can be read as a whole, but each double-page spread also stands independently, making it easy to apply the book to various related topics, particularly World War 2. The writing style is detailed but accessible, with a glossary for the more challenging technical vocabulary.

This book is essential for an aviation topic and a brilliant addition to the school library. There’s enough detail to satisfy those who are already interested in the topics covered and the broad range will spark new interests across topics in science, engineering and history. The book includes some references to air disasters, including the Hindenburg and Concorde, and discusses the deaths in crashes of several aviation pioneers, making it more suitable for older KS2 readers.

The balance between science and history is handled particularly well, placing exciting aviation developments in context. This would be ideal for an upper KS2 class and many sections are also accessible to younger readers due to plentiful illustrations and concise explanations.