Jet Plane: How It Works

by David Macaulay, Sheila Keenan

Overview

Go on an airplane ride.

It weighs as much as 100 elephants, but it can fly for hours. How does a jet do that? From the engine that provides the power and wings that lift the plane off the ground to the cockpit controls and passenger cabin, see how these modern marvels work and what makes them stay in the air.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626722118
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	04/14/2015
Series:	Macaulay's How it Works Series
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Born on December 2, 1946, David Macaulay was ten when his family moved from England to the United States. An early fascination with simple technology and a love of model making and drawing ultimately led him to study architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. He received his degree in 1969 after spending his fifth year with RISD’s European Honors Program in Rome. The next four years were spent working in interior design, teaching junior and senior high school art and tinkering with the idea of making books. The tinkering paid off. His numerous awards include the MacArthur Fellowship, the Caldecott Medal, won for his book Black and White, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, the Washington Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, the Dutch Silver Slate Pencil Award, and the Bradford Washburn Award, presented by the Museum of Science in Boston to an outstanding contributor to science. He was U.S.nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in both 1984 and 2002. Macaulay currently lives with his family in Vermont.

Sheila Keenan is an established author of fiction and nonfiction, including Greetings from the 50 States; Animals in the House: A History of Pets and People; O, Say Can You See? America’s Symbols, Landmarks, and Inspiring Words; and Gods, Goddesses, and Monsters: A Book of World Mythology. Her book, Dogs of War, is a graphic novel of historical fiction based on the role of dogs in the military.

Editorial Reviews

A challenging but worthwhile choice for young readers who are curious about flight.” —Booklist

“Both books revisit subjects covered in earlier books (Castle, rev. 10/77; and The New Way Things Work, rev. 3/89, 3/99), but these topics are here presented with the needs of developing readers in mind.” —The Horn Book

“Watercolor views of the machinery and airports are just as informative and engaging as one expects from Macaulay. Kids packing their carry-ons for flights of their own will want to tuck in a copy.” —BCCB

“The beautifully colored illustrations beg for repeated viewings and a larger trim size, but the narrow lines of text in an early-reader format will help children feel comfortable with the information and new terms introduced.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Gr 2–4—Beginning, fluent readers with an interest in aviation will treasure this title. Simple narration explains the sights, sounds, and mechanics of a flight from a passenger's perspective. Readers are invited to look for his suitcase (marked with a red arrow) going up the loading ramp, "notice the cockpit," and look through the window to view the runway and the flaps on the wing. Simple yet detailed drawings explain how the wings provide lift for the plane and change its direction and that the force of air through the engine provides thrust to carry the plane through space. One spread depicts the function of radar by day and night. The beautifully colored illustrations beg for repeated viewings and a larger trim size, but the narrow lines of text in an early-reader format will help children feel comfortable with the information and new terms introduced. Whether this is shelved in nonfiction or beginning-reader collections, it will find an appreciative audience.—Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI

School Library Journal