World Space Week has been celebrated for the last 17 years, with events taking place all over the world, making it one of the biggest public events in the world. Highlighting the research conducted and achievements reached, milestones are celebrated in this week. The focus isn’t solely on finding the ‘Final Frontier’ but also on how the research conducted can be used to help humans living on Earth.
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Book: Zephyr Takes Flight
Author: Steve Light
Pages: 40
Age Range: 5-8
Zephyr's Flight by Steve Light is an ode to people's fascination with flight. Zephyr is a little girl who is obsessed with airplanes. Her family is too busy to really notice, until her flight attempts cause her to knock over a set of shelves. Sent to her room, Zephyr discovers a hidden door behind her dresser, leading to a magical room full of books and implements related to flying, as well as all sorts of "flying machines." From this room, Zephyr embarks on a fabulous adventure. But, as in the best of children's books, in the end she is back at home, and with her pancakes (instead of dinner) waiting.
Zephyr's Flight reminds me a bit of Barbara Lehman's books, like Rainstorm or Trainstop, in which a fanciful world is hidden right beside a real one. There are two primary differences, however. First of all, Lehman's books are wordless, while Light's are not. Also, there's a nonfiction underpinning to Zephyr's Flight, with actual historic airplanes set alongside the magic.
Zephyr's Flight is a delightful mix of aeronautical and whimsical. Zephyr ends up, for example, in a land populated by flying pigs. She is able to use her knowledge of airplanes to help one flightless pig to build wings.
Light's text is full of the wonders of flight. Like this:
"It was filled with papers and pens, drawings and maps,
books about how to fly and where to go.
And then there were the flying machines.
There were big ones and small ones, some with propellers and some
with rudders and very strange things. And all of them were real."
The illustrations all have a steampunk sort of feel, full of amber brown airplanes in old-fashioned styles. Well, at least if steampunk normally includes flying pigs. In truth, the cover of Zephyr's Flight fails to convey the sense of fun and adventure of the book. Which is too bad, because this is a book that I think would please lots of kids in the early elementary school range. I hope that libraries have discovered it, and I wish that I had reviewed it sooner. Recommended for kindergarten and up.
Publisher: Candlewick (@Candlewick)
Publication Date: October 9, 2012
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
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© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
Hello, I am Dr. Ray Johnson, the Chief Technology Officer for the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
I have a great job that allows me and the 70,000 Lockheed Martin scientists and engineers to explore and discover the wonders of science. We engineer solutions and use new technologies to protect people and improve their lives, and we constantly look for new and exciting ways to be innovative.
Technical careers rely on an educational foundation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). My colleagues and I also rely on these technical disciplines. We are deeply concerned about the shortage of scientists and engineers here in the U.S. and about the need to reinvigorate future generations to pursue technical careers. We recognize the importance of these areas of study, and through our company’s support, we are involved in a number of initiatives to encourage students to get involved in STEM-related activities.
One initiative Lockheed Martin supports, and that I am greatly excited about, is the upcoming USA Science and Engineering Festival that will be held in Washington, D.C. from October 10-24, 2010. As the Festival Host, we hope to have a million people participate; the best part—it’s free. The event culminates with a two-day Science Expo on the National Mall featuring more than 1,000 exhibits spanning an incredible array of technical fields: aerospace, green energy, medicine, biotechnology, climatology, robotics, nanotechnology, and so many more.
The Festival will be an incredible experience for any student. We hope to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to invest in their future and America’s future by studying science, technology, engineering, and math at their schools.
