The Toy Plane

Gr 1-4–Leonard, a young Black boy, misses his granny deeply now that she’s gone. His father gives him a red toy airplane, just like the one she flew as a pilot, as a tangible reminder of her. When the plane gets stuck in a tree and a bird carries it off, Leonard sets out on a fantastical journey to retrieve it. His quest takes him soaring on the back of a ­giant egretlike bird, high into the clouds, across the ocean, and to the mouth of a ­volcano. There, he is reunited with Granny, also represented in bird form, who appears alongside winged lions and a massive dragon, offering him exactly what he needs to recover the lost plane. Leonard ultimately pilots the toy himself, “­flying over the sea, doing tricks in the clouds,” just as she once did. He always wanted to be a pilot like her. The toy plane as metaphor for memories may need further ­explaining for the intended audience, but the story presents an opportunity to discuss the loss of a loved one and what the memories of them represent. Acrylic and colored-pencil ­illustrations evoke a ­mid–20th-century ­Southern setting, complete with mango trees and backyard swings.