Flight 1-2-3

by Maria van Lieshout

What can you see when you go on an airplane journey? 1 airplane, 2 luggage carts, 3 check-in counters, and so much more! Using familiar airport signs, this striking book introduces little ones not only to numbers, but to the world around them. Equally suitable for the transportation-obsessed as well as any child learning to count, this fresh and dynamic picture book follow-up to Backseat A-B-See will entertain and educate at home, in the classroom, and on the go.

Genres: Picture Books, Counting, Transport, Childrens, Travel, Number, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 9, 2013

About the author

Maria was born and raised in the Netherlands, and studied Visual Communications at George Washington University in DC. Maria's historical graphic novel Song of a Blackbird, about a female artist in the Amsterdam resistance during WWII, was awarded the Michael Printz Award Honor and it was longlisted for the National Book Award.
www.vanlieshoutstudio.com for more information.

Reviews

[Michael Rudzki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting! I couldn't put it down!

[Edie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A celebration of symbols, especially those at airports with visually striking images that will appeal to all ages. Bold colors help to keep the reader's attention and maximize the theme of each page, be it luggage carts or food service or airport gates. And it is also a counting book if the reader is so inclined. The relationship of the numbers to what is to be counted is rather subtle, adding to the appeal.

[Adrianna Laskowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Copyright-2016
Number of Pages-40
Book Format- Hardcover
Reading Level- Age level: N/A; GR: N/A
Genre- Counting, picture book, concept
Lit Requirement- Counting book 1

Summary- This book describes getting ready for an airplane trip. A family of three make there way through the airport counting the things they see. They use real icons that you would see in airports, too. Each page has a number for whatever the family is experiencing. Ex. "2 Luggage carts, 5 Trash cans, 100 Fastened seat belts, etc."
Response- I thought this book was interesting. I think this book could really help young readers briefly learn about airports while practicing their counting skills.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book SO MUCH. I love the modern illustrations with real airport symbols. It has a ton of plot for a counting book. It's a lovely book to foster a love of traveling. I'll admit- the last page makes me a little teary. This book makes me want to take my baby on airplanes, which is saying A LOT.

[Terry]

This board book is well sized for young hands! It has a simple counting plot, with clever illustrations that will engage toddlers and early preschoolers. My son (3) loved this book. He requested it repeatedly. He loves all things airplanes, so I knew he would like it.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the incorporation of the real airport symbols in this book. This would be a cool thing to use with a very young child before their first time flying. Not so much for toddler storytime, but maybe baby st.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, really neat book about taking an airline flight. A must for any child who will be going to an airport.

[Craigd · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing how a book with so few words and simple pictures can convey the absolute misery of traveling by air today.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good board book for babies

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful book on going on an airplane, toddler/preschool

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect gift for a flying family; Checked out from Baraboo Public Library 📚 in Wisconsin

[Joella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a counting book that shows what happens when you go on an airplane. It starts off by doing one number at a time: 1 airport, 2 luggage carts, etc. Then once the book gets to 10 gates it jumps to 100 seat belts and then some other random “airplane” numbers. Then it goes back down to “One happy meeting” with the grandparents at the end of the airplane trip.

This is a fun story that not only explains bits and pieces of what happens on a airplane trip but also goes through various numbers. Kids will enjoy counting the various things they can count (like escalators) even though they can’t count things like 33,000 feet in the air that the airplane travels. The illustrations are perfect in their simplicity. The faces are white with only the details coming from two black circles for eyes and the nose and whatnot in the profiles. The one-tone shirts, pants and whatnot of the people and places in the airport. (In some places they are just the generic profiles of people like you would find as a symbol on a restroom door.) This will allow kids to imagine themselves as the one in the story going on a trip.

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flight 1-2-3 by Maria van Lieshout is a great picture book to give to kids before going on a trip that involves an airplane. Each page covers some part of the trip plus a number. At the beginning it asks the question, “When taking a flight, what do you see?” The answers go from 1 to 10 for things like the airport, the escalators, check-in desks and airplane gates. It also goes to higher numbers that engage the imagination of young children, like “100 fastened seat belts” and “a million places to explore.” It all ends with a happy reunion with friends or relatives once the family gets to its destinations.

Van Lieshout’s illustrations are sparse and colorful, with block signs like the ones you see in airports with symbols for food and drink, restrooms and trash cans. With its sturdy, easy-to-wipe-off cover, Flight 1-2-3 can be easily taken along on a trip and referred to often as families go through each stage of a trip.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Jennifer Walizer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:
Flight 1-2-3 by Maria van Lieshout is a counting concept book that goes around the theme of an airport. It begins with counting different items that you would come across at an airport, starting from the number one counting up to the number ten and including the number 100. Then the last couple pages discuss the amount of miles, kilometers, feet, and meters are traveled to the destination.
Classroom Connections:
This would be a great book to have in a preschool room. It is a great way to introduce counting to 10 as well as introducing the number 100. Students could count along with this book by using the images of how many luggage there are or whatever item is being referenced on that page. Another idea that can be taken from this and used for older years would be measurement conversions. It shows how many miles and kilometers, but what is the difference? You could have a discussion about this and use this to introduce conversions.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take a ride on a plane in this follow-up to Backseat A-B-See! The trip begins with a cab ride to the airport and asks readers what they see. There is 1 airport, 2 luggage carts, 3 check-in desks, and the book progresses to very large numbers, like 100 passengers and 33,000 feet. Van Lieshout uses all of the official signage you see around the airport to inspire her art. Those signs are on each page, right next to the numbers to help with counting. The characters too have a graphic, sign-like quality to them, though the main family has its own quirks like yellow tennis shoes and hair in a black ponytail.

With minimal text and art that is a playful look at official signage, this counting book will appeal to kids who love planes and also to those heading out on their first plane trip. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this book out for my plane/train obsessed little boy, and he is predictably a big fan. This counting story takes a family through the entire airport experience, from 1 airport sign as they arrive, to 6 security officers, to 33,000 feet in the sky. The book incorporates the signs for each of these things (picture the men/women restroom sign, food court signs and so on) which could be fun for an older child to play a game of I Spy with. For my almost-three-year-old the signs are a little abstract, so we just identify the numbers and talk about what's going on in each picture.

This would be a great story for any kiddos getting ready to take an airplane trip as it shows what to expect at each point in the journey. And for non-traveling tykes, they'll just like the plane pictures anyway.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I love the airport setting for this counting book and would have found it helpful to have it with me the first time I tried to navigate an airport, I found some of the illustrations confusing with too many objects for young readers to count without becoming distracted. For instance, there are three suitcases, three check-in desks, three clerks, and three families checking in to represent three, but there's one self-check kiosk. If adults and young readers are sharing the book, they can have a conversation about the focus of the pages, but it does require some concentration. I liked the digital illustrations and the use of airport signage throughout the book.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This clever book is right up there with Byron Barton's Airport, but in a very modern and stylish way. As families read this, kids can learn about the meanings of those cryptic international symbols, and most of the people in the book are those stylized figures, posed in various position--funny! Also, alert counters will notice that besides the named item to count, many of the other items on the page are also the same number, or subsets or multiples of it. I can see lots of discussions around these pages, and as they travel kids will be looking for their "friends" from this book. Kinda brilliant.

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it doesn't work quite as well as Backseat ABSee, since the numbers chosen are a bit more arbitrary, it's still really fun. 6 security guards. 9 people waiting for the bathroom (the little dude at the center of the tale is doing the potty dance). 100 people on the plane. Grandma and grandpa are waiting on the other end. That was lovely. :) But yeah, using the visual language and designated font of airports worldwide is both cool and effective and a really good learning opportunity for the little dude or dude-ette headed out on a plane trip. Yay!

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because it can be used with the very youngest air travellers (something there's constant demand for in a public library)but has enough satisfying detail to keep the attention of older siblings, as well. The graphic design is clean, clear and attractive. Reading it feels, in fact, like an idealized trip to the airport-almost as if going through security was a relaxing experience devised for our amusement...

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flight 1-2-3 by Maria van Lieshout – quite thrilled to get a new counting book for the library collection. There will be students inquiring into signs and symbols next year in my Year 2/1st grade class and this book is packed with them! Additionally, we have a student population where most of the children are traveling all over the place, they are used to being on planes and will be quite excited to read a counting book that has to do with travelling.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfect little book to tuck into a carry-on bag for a flight with a toddler or preschooler. Simple text, great illustrations, I love the style. My toddler son loves this book up to #10, he even tries to push the buttons on the "4 elevators" and he's obsessed with all of the suitcases. After 10, he doesn't really get the bigger numbers and concepts, but an older child who understands that they're (for example) flying very far to visit grandparents would get it.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the author's other book Backseat A-B-C, this book uses internationally recognized signage to teach a concept. In this case, signs that one might expect to see in an airport are used to teach number recognition and counting. A good book to teach young kids not only about signs and counting, but also what to expect at the airport.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

We take them for granted but they've been guiding us for decades. Maria van Lieshout points out the signs we might see around an airport. Simple enough for very young readers but enjoyable enough for all ages, this book is perfect in design, layout and delivery.

My full review: http://bit.ly/1cL0pPJ

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The graphic stylistic illustrations is totally appropriate for show casing airport signage. This is also a counting book. And it has a storyline conveyed within the illustrations about a family with a young child going to the airport, making a trip and meeting important people at the end of the flight. Depicts the routine of going on a flight. Job well done.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* art
4* concept

We're going on a trip, so I read this to Squirt twice a day and talk about all the things we will see and do at the airport and on the airplane. I don't know how much he understands, but I hope to prepare him as much as possible. It's a great book for this - gives lots of opportunity for conversation.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This counting book takes place in an airport. This would be great for readers who have traveled, and may give some incite to those children who haven't. One very interesting thing is that the text appears as the signs in the airport so it almost seems wordless on the first 10 pages. Great illustrations!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful children's picture book by van Lieshout! If you are getting ready to take your young ones on a plane trip - this would be the perfect way to prepare them. In a simple style, the author takes you on a trip through the airport, into the airplane, and back home again. Great read!

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple, cute book based around the signs you might see in the airport. Kids interested in airplanes and transportation books will probably enjoy this one, and I can imagine it being especially great for a child to have with him or her on a first airplane ride.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't THE book for parents wanting a "going on a plane" book, but it does show a lot of what children taking a plane trip will see on the way to that flight. The bold graphics are outstanding and this also doubles as a counting book, so it's all in all a great package.