10 Oct / Zephyr Takes Flight by Steve Light
Of course, a child named Zephyr is predestined to love planes, always ready to ride the gentle winds in the limitless sky. [I should also mention that “Zephyr” is the name of the (unmanned, solar-powered) plane that holds the world record for being continuously airborne for two weeks – clearly another example of predestined fruition!]
This Zephyr is quite the flight-minded devotee, drawing, building, playing, and eventually hoping to fly a plane of her own. One day when she gets sent to her room for rambunctious breakage of dishes, she finds a secret door hidden behind her dresser, and discovers “surely the most wondrous place Zephyr had ever seen,” mainly because she’s surrounded by flying machines! She takes off on the FS Bessie, but unexpected engine trouble forces her to land in a village of … flying pigs! She helps one little grounded porcine buddy who, in turn, helps Zephyr to return home … where Grandma, Mommy, and Daddy are waiting with “a triple-hug, triple-pancake spectacular.”
Steve Light, who earlier this year reclaimed the power of storytelling from shrunken-down mobile devices with his wooden imagination-filled Storybox collections (check out The Girl Who Loved Danger here), this time lends his creativity to the printed page. His illustrations prove to be a delightful invitation for careful examination again and again … from airborne porkers to gender benders to pink bubbles to the names of planes. Oh, so very clever indeed!
Best of all (for us oldsters), Light even adds a little nudge to remind (warn!) us to make room for playtime: when Grandma, Mom, and Dad are all too busy to play with Zephyr, all manner of things come crashing down. Literally. In other words, no need to wait until pigs fly to share this adventure with the little ones … I know, I know. Couldn’t resist that one!
Readers: Children
Published: 2012