Aviation Books for a 10-year-old?

killbilly

killbilly

Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
A friend approached me and said that his 10 year old is airplane crazy. He wanted recommendations on a book or two that a 10 year old could read/enjoy who is really interested in Aviation.

I thought about some of the books I had when I was a kid - lots of jet fighter photography and stuff - but I wondered what was current, because as I perused the titles I remembered on Amazon, most of them are out of print. Kid's too young to start lessons, so this would be sort of eye-candy and maybe some super-basic drawings with introductory accessible bits for a 10 year old.

Any thoughts on this, folks?
 
 
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Here's an oldie but a goodie, but I really enjoyed this when I was a kid and it also served me well into my early teen years. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Topless airlines.jpg
 
Fly the Wing, the kid can have DC9 profiles memorized by 11!

There's a good book by Jack Elliott called Adventures in Flying, he was a columnist for a NJ newspaper and had a weekly Sunday aviation article for over 30 years. The book is a compilation of really cool stories that are short enough for bedtime and kid attention spans, and is about all kinds of aviation from airplanes to gliders and balloons and odd record attempts. I'd recommend it to anyone
 
A Life Aloft said:
These are the books that look very good to me:

The Big Book of Airplanes
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Air...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=R8FTQ7E77PQQJ6MN7H4Z

Flight
https://www.amazon.com/DK-Eyewitnes...80GZ20PEP6S&psc=1&refRID=WFS72N9WN80GZ20PEP6S

Who Were the Wright Brothers?
https://www.amazon.com/Who-Were-Wri...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=R8FTQ7E77PQQJ6MN7H4Z

Take Off!
https://www.amazon.com/Take-About-A...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=R8FTQ7E77PQQJ6MN7H4Z

How Airports Work
https://www.amazon.com/Airports-Wor...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=R8FTQ7E77PQQJ6MN7H4Z

Flight School
https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Schoo...&sr=1-1&keywords=how++planes+fly+for+children
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These are great suggestions, Gerry. Thank you.

I had the old Time-Life Epic Of Flight series....which was pretty amazing at the time. It's been out of print for a while but I remember reading those over and over. (Some more frequently than others - I wasn't that interested in the WW1 stuff, but the stuff about mercenary flying units and the early airline days were some of my faves - as well as the first book - Fighting Jets. )
 
When I was 10 I loved "Concept Airplanes" by Jim Winchester. Not sure if it's still in print, but it's great if you can find a copy.
 
+1 on the paper airplane book. When I was a kid, I just about wore out my copy of "The Great Paper Airplane Book". It's probably out of print, but there's probably something similar out there. Educational and good for hours of fun.
 
killbilly said:
These are great suggestions, Gerry. Thank you.

I had the old Time-Life Epic Of Flight series....which was pretty amazing at the time. It's been out of print for a while but I remember reading those over and over. (Some more frequently than others - I wasn't that interested in the WW1 stuff, but the stuff about mercenary flying units and the early airline days were some of my faves - as well as the first book - Fighting Jets. )
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Revisit WW1 aviation - you may have an interest now, particularly since you have flown simple taildraggers. Read about the Red Baron and others - also look at the development of the airplane from the 1914 days to the Fokker DVII - which was still in use in the 20's. Amazing technological advances.
 
My suggestion?

Drone.

It's the way of the future. But also, aviation related and fun for a ten year old. I just got one for a nephew, along with a pile of spare parts, and he loves the thing. I think he even spent as much as ten minutes away from Fortnite, which is as good as it gets!
 
I would suggest the book Flight Of Passage, that will taint his impressionable mind and he will never want to work a real job in his life!
 
killbilly said:
These are great suggestions, Gerry. Thank you.

I had the old Time-Life Epic Of Flight series....which was pretty amazing at the time. It's been out of print for a while but I remember reading those over and over. (Some more frequently than others - I wasn't that interested in the WW1 stuff, but the stuff about mercenary flying units and the early airline days were some of my faves - as well as the first book - Fighting Jets. )
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I've got one complete set and one incomplete set of that one.

If anyone wants the incomplete one (the remaining volumes could probably be found on eBay without too much trouble.) I could probably arrange to ship it, provided it's where I think it is...

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
 
killbilly said:
A friend approached me and said that his 10 year old is airplane crazy. He wanted recommendations on a book or two that a 10 year old could read/enjoy who is really interested in Aviation.

I thought about some of the books I had when I was a kid - lots of jet fighter photography and stuff - but I wondered what was current, because as I perused the titles I remembered on Amazon, most of them are out of print. Kid's too young to start lessons, so this would be sort of eye-candy and maybe some super-basic drawings with introductory accessible bits for a 10 year old.

Any thoughts on this, folks?
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Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.
I'm not joking. Most of the 10-12 year olds I've taught have jumped right into it and assimilated it faster and better than the majority of my adult students.
 
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