Book Review: Flight School, by Lita Judge

Why I Picked It Up: I received this book in the best possible way – it was a gift!  My son turned one this past weekend, and as we were opening the gift from Jessica and her family, this one had MY name on it!  Jessica’s Amazon is so helpful in suggesting books because it knows about so many books, and it seems like it always knows what we will like.  It’s like a super librarian!  Since we’re big on airplanes around here (my husband is a pilot), a book called Flight School about a penguin was absolutely perfect! Truth be told, I probably would have picked it up in a bookstore as well simply because of the penguin on the front!

Why I Finished It: I fell in love with the little penguin and his red flight goggles on the first page when he declares that he has “the soul of an eagle.” He is so confident and determined to fly, despite Teacher pointing out that he is a penguin. When Penguin lands in the water and walks off dejectedly, my heart broke for him! He gives up and heads home, but then Flamingo has an idea to help Penguin accomplish his dream! I just wanted to hug Flamingo!  The joy in the little penguin’s face is undeniable and completely contagious. The cherry on top of this delicious book is the last page, when Penguin introduces his friend Ostrich to Flamingo, saying he “has the soul of a swallow.”

Who I Would Give It To: Several different audiences come to mind for this book. Elementary students will enjoy it as a read aloud and will love looking at the beautiful illustrations.  Middle school students can use this book as a mentor text for writing about their own lives.  I also think this book would be a great encouragement and affirmation for teachers who go the extra mile to help their students be successful.

Integration Ideas

Making Connections: Text to Self

As cheesy as it sounds, I think there is a little bit of Penguin in almost everyone.  Penguin wants to accomplish something that others are telling him is impossible, yet he is determined and works hard. But he isn’t able to accomplish his dream on his own, he has support from others who care about him and help him succeed.

Students can think about a time when they had a dream of something to accomplish.  Did they accomplish it?  How?  Were there special people who helped them?

This could be a writing prompt for older students, or simply a discussion to prepare students to make personal connections with the book before it is read aloud.  The writing prompt could have the students write an expository piece, where they explain why they should never give up in order to achieve their goals.  It could also be a personal narrative, where the students write a story about a time or event in their life when others helped them achieve a difficult task.

Inference

The text of this book is simple, but it is enhanced by the rich illustrations. On almost every page, there is opportunity for students to add to the story by looking at the pictures and talking about what they see.  Teachers can prompt students by asking about what is happening on the page, and what they think might happen on the next page.  Additionally, Penguin is a very expressive little guy. Teachers can prompt students to make inferences about Penguin’s character and his feelings throughout the story.  Right from the beginning, when Penguin says, “He has the soul of  an eagle,” students could make inferences about that that means.  Not to mention they could emulate this powerful writing to enhance their drafts.

The whole premise of the book is a bit of an inference as well. The penguin wants to fly and students may or may not understand why he can’t.  That leads effortlessly into…

…Research!

In order to gain some background knowledge, students can research penguins of various types.  The title page of the book shows a sign that says “Leaving South Pole,” so they can try and determine what kind of penguin he might be, as well as why he is unable to fly.

Students will likely be curious about the different kinds of birds they see at the flight school (flamingo, owl, pelican, seagull, ostrich, etc.). Each student or student group could be assigned to research a particular bird, looking up where they live, what they eat, size of an average bird of the species, etc.  Check out our Top Three Search Engines to use with students post.  Make sure to help students organize their notes and research.  This is a great time to use Foldables.  

Research Product

It would be fun to create a display for this book based on the wingspan of the different birds.  Students could be responsible for cutting a piece of yarn, or getting really ambitious and cutting out a life-size silhouette of their bird, and they could put them up on the wall in order to have a frame of reference for the different birds in the book.  Can you imagine all the math and science integration ideas here?  This might help students fully understand the last page of the book as well!

Technology option: Have students create a page on their bird with Haiku Deck, a very visual presentation app.  Each students page could be put together into one presentation and shown before reading the book.