You may have a little aviation lover in your house already, but if your library tends to be heavier on the farm life and ABCs categories, read on. Books are a great way to prep toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners in the weeks before an airplane trip. They will feel more in control if they have some frame of reference for once they get to the airport and board their plane. These are our favorite books about airports and airplanes for ages 1 – 5.
Planes by Byron Barton
Byron Barton’s books feature simple sentences, bright pictures, and clean lines, and Planes follows this pleasant structure. Planes shows several different types of planes as a jet plane flies through the air on each spread. At the end, your child will appreciate the familiar scenes of a passenger plane unloading and then getting ready for take off. Oceanhouse Media offers a series of companion apps to some of Barton’s popular books, including Planes. HarperFestival.
Five Trucks by Brian Floca
Five Trucks is my personal favorite. Floca’s illustrations charmingly match what a child might see as five trucks and their drivers prepare an airplane on the tarmac, along with a detailed look at some of the trucks’ and airplane’s mechanics. The mirrored structure ends in a beautifully rendered take off at the end. Simon and Schuster.
Richard Scarry’s A Day at the Airport
A Day at the Airport might be both a bit dated and a lot wacky, but it’s still enjoyable in the way that only Richard Scarry books can be. Familiar characters Huckle, Lowly, and Sally zip in and out of the airport terminal with their guide Rudolf von Flugel. Each colorful scene offers labelled close-ups of what kids can expect at the airport, though you might have to explain why there isn’t a bratwurst balloon at LAX. Random House Books for Young Readers.
Thanks–these look great! I also recommend The Airport Book by Lisa Brown.