Our family loves flying off on a new adventure. The first time our twins flew they were 2 months old, much too young to remember it (or even stay awake).
Two years later we prepared to fly out east I wanted them to be prepared.
I find that things tend to go more smoothly when they have some idea of what to expect. To help us prepare I gathered some books and because I’m me I read every book I could find about airplanes.
Here are the picture books about airplanes that we enjoyed the most. They are perfect for reading before plane trips to start conversations about what to expect and reflect later after our ride.
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10+ Picture Books About Airplanes
1. How Airport Work
by Clive Glifford
illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock
This book is SO cool. It shows you every inch of the airport. My kids love the detailed illustrations and the pages that open up allowing you to peek behind the scenes at the airport. Learn where your baggage goes, what happens in the control tower, and so much more.
2.Flying
by Donald Crews
Donald Crews is one of my go-to authors when I am looking for a non-fiction book. He captures the relevant details for his young audience perfectly. Flying is no different.
3.Five Trucks
by Brian Floca
Five Trucks is the story of the trucks that prepare the airplane for take off. It describes how they pack on the luggage, load the food, check the wheels, and move the airplane into position. We are huge Brian Floca fans. Locomotive and Lightship are two of our all time favorite books.
Floca is a master at taking beloved transportation themes and finding unique approaches for presenting them. His brief text and beautiful illustrations make these the perfect reads for young children. They entice the reader with intriguing information that leaves you wanting to learn more about the topic. This book reminds me of waiting for an airplane at the gate with my nose pressed up against the glass in the best possible way.
4.I Love Planes!
By Philemon Sturges
illustrated by Shari Halpern
Philemon Sturges is another amazing non-fiction author. Our toddlers love the colorful pictures and the variety of different planes.
5. The Noisy Airplane Ride
by Mike Downs
illustrations by David Gordon
For many young children, it is the noise of an airplane ride that is most impressionable. This sensory experience is carefully captured in The Noisy Airplane Ride that discusses the different noises associated with an airplane ride. Another great book to read before you head up into the skies with little ones.
6. Planes at the Airport
by Peter Mandel
illustrated by Edward Miller
Our toddlers loved this illustrations of different types of aviation in this book. It is a simple non-fiction text that excellently excites little ones about what they will see at the airport.
7. A Plane Goes Ka-Zoom!
By Jonathan London
illustrated by Denis Roche
Beloved author of the Froggy series captures a plane ride and all of its noisiness for his favorite audience. Our toddlers liked imitating the different noises.
8. Planes
by Hanri Van Wyk
This is a lovely lift-the-flap book that captures the attention of its targeted audience. The format of this book encouraged them to look carefully at the different parts of the airport and the airplane. A great book for building vocabulary about planes and air travel.
9. Going on an Airplane
by Anne Civardi
illustrated by Stephen Cartwright
This book is about a trip on the airplane from a child’s perspective. It is colorful and sweet. We enjoyed this simple text as another format for discussion about our trip.
also read: Learning Numbers with Airplanes
10. Flight 1-2-3
by Maria van Lieshout
We love this counting book. Imaginative illustrations and unforced approach to integrating counting. Flight 1-2-3 walks readers through the airport, onto the plane, and around the world.
11.Planes
by Byron Barton
This is a simple book about planes, delightful for infants and toddlers. We tucked this one in our son’s backpack for the plane ride.
12. On This Airplane
by Lourdes Heuer
illustrated by Sara Palacios
I’m in love with this gorgeous picture book. The story is a simple one – a family gets on a plane full of people to fly to their new home. It is the interplay between the lovely, lyrical text and the detailed illustrations that makes it picture book magic. Kids will love spotting the different people mentioned in the text and reliving all of the familiar parts of flying. It is quietly powerful, gently illustrated and one you can read again and again.
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13. Sky High! A Soaring History of Aviation
by Jacek Ambrozewski
This might not be a first flight book, but for those that fall in love with planes and want to know all the things – this is the book for them. It is oversized, thick and stuffed with huge pages of information on all things related to flying. It begins with the things that inspired human flight – birds, spinning seed pods and more. It then goes through the history of aviation first getting off the ground, different kinds of aircraft through history, all the way to more modern Boeing planes and unmanned aerial vehicles. I love the details, the science included, and the general breadth of knowledge it shares. It is impressively comprehensive nonfiction for kids.
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