The Airport: The Inside Story

by John Walton, Hannah Abbo (Illustrator), Neon Squid

Overview

Pack your bags and get ready to check in at the airport! Meet pilots and baggage handlers, fly in an airplane, and learn about the science behind how everything works in this nonfiction story for kids.

This book is perfect for any child who loves airports or is about to go on a trip. Aviation expert John Walton takes readers behind the scenes to meet the incredible people who work night and day to keep an airport working, from control tower operators to security staff and janitors. The book also explains the science and engineering behind how things work, from X-ray scanners to baggage carousels.

Set over the course of one day, you’ll check in with different people in the airport, including:

• An excited family heading on vacation

• A flight attendant preparing for takeoff

• A sniffer dog and its handler working at the security checkpoint

As you turn the pages of The Airport: The Inside Story, illustrated by Hannah Abbo, marvel at the way airport staff work together—from chefs in kitchens to cleaners and staff assisting passengers with disabilities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684493098
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/11/2023
Series:	The Inside Story
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.15(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	NC940L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

John Walton is an award-winning journalist who specializes in transport, aviation, airlines, and the passenger experience. John grew up on three continents and likes to joke that he was raised by cabin crew! His lifelong interest in aviation was sparked during a life of shuttling around the world on Boeing 747-100 and -200 aircraft, and he remembers with fondness the days when bored pilots and cabin crew didn’t mind an inquisitive teenager hanging around in cockpits and galleys asking questions.

Hannah Abbo is a self-taught illustrator from the UK, currently living and working in Lisbon, Portugal. She lives with her partner and child, and their (slightly) overweight cat. When she's not drawing she loves making ceramics in a local studio, visiting the botanical gardens, and baking bread.

Editorial Reviews

"An eye-opening tour for young travelers, experienced or otherwise, who think it takes only pilots and flight attendants to get them where they’re going... Informative and notable for its people-centric approach." —Kirkus

From the Publisher

2023-03-29
A simple introduction to many types of airport workers.

Walton, a self-described “aviation journalist,” follows a group of travelers who are diverse in terms of age, race, and ability into one airport and, after a quick, uneventful flight, out another. Along the way he not only introduces an equally diverse cast of employees, from brown-skinned security agent Francine at the luggage scanner to light-skinned immigration official Kevin examining passports at a checkpoint, but also points out different types of airport buildings and sizes of passenger planes, explains how checked luggage is sorted and transported, and ducks behind the scenes to watch brown-skinned chef Safir adding veggies to each preassembled dinner plate; Jasmine, Bradley, and Mia, a diverse trio of technicians, replacing a jet engine; and brown-skinned animal trainer Meena deploying a falcon (named Felix) to chase geese off the runway. It’s an eye-opening tour for young travelers, experienced or otherwise, who think it takes only pilots and flight attendants to get them where they’re going—even if, unlike Lisa Brown’s TheAirport Book (2016) and most of the many similar picture books that overtly aim to soothe the anxieties of infrequent fliers, the content focuses more on people than safety procedures. Nearly everyone here is given a name, and within her stylized, screen print–style settings Abbo picks up on that cue by depicting figures with individualized dress and faces. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Informative and notable for its people-centric approach. (glossary, index) (Informational picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews