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Getting Air
They can rule the half-pipe, but can they survive this?
Jimmy, David, and Henry are psyched. It's summer, school's out, and they are on their way to California, where they will be able to do some major skating. But on the plane, the unthinkable They are hijacked by terrorists. As frightened as they may be, they take action and they succeed. Sort of. They may have beaten the terrorists, but now their plane has crashed in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden, their summer vacation is about finding food, shelter, and a rescue. Can three normal twelve-year-old boys find a way to get by without fast food and skate parks?
Jimmy, David, and Henry are psyched. It's summer, school's out, and they are on their way to California, where they will be able to do some major skating. But on the plane, the unthinkable They are hijacked by terrorists. As frightened as they may be, they take action and they succeed. Sort of. They may have beaten the terrorists, but now their plane has crashed in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden, their summer vacation is about finding food, shelter, and a rescue. Can three normal twelve-year-old boys find a way to get by without fast food and skate parks?
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 24, 2007
31 people are currently reading
235 people want to read
About the author
Dan Gutman
358 books1,033 followersThe author of over 80 books in a little over a decade of writing, Dan Gutman has written on topics from computers to baseball. Beginning his freelance career as a nonfiction author dealing mostly with sports for adults and young readers, Gutman has concentrated on juvenile fiction since 1995. His most popular titles include the time-travel sports book Honus and Me and its sequels, and a clutch of baseball books, including The Green Monster from Left Field. From hopeful and very youthful presidential candidates to stunt men, nothing is off limits in Gutman's fertile imagination. As he noted on his author Web site, since writing his first novel, They Came from Centerfield, in 1994, he has been hooked on fiction. "It was fun to write, kids loved it, and I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to take a blank page and turn it into a WORLD."
Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.
Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
January 8, 2010
What I learned from this book was that some skateboarders get in a plane to get to the skateboard competitions in florida alone without asking their parents because they did not let them go by them selfs. The four kids and the other passengers where very terrified about the news. The plane was being hijacked!!
What I learned in this book was that never go anywhere without permission of your parents because you never know something terrible might happen. I also learned that to listen to yout parents because maybe they are right of what they said of not going to a competion or something.
I recomend this book to kids that love skateboarding and hijacking stuff. I really do think people should read this book because it is very good and is by a very good author called Dan Gutman. He is one of my best authors so read this Book!
What I learned in this book was that never go anywhere without permission of your parents because you never know something terrible might happen. I also learned that to listen to yout parents because maybe they are right of what they said of not going to a competion or something.
I recomend this book to kids that love skateboarding and hijacking stuff. I really do think people should read this book because it is very good and is by a very good author called Dan Gutman. He is one of my best authors so read this Book!
June 1, 2025
I liked this book quite a bit. I liked how all the characters worked together to survive alone. I would say I didnt feel while the story centered on the 3 boys that were friends I didnt feel any sort of way that the kids were friendly with each other even before the crash. The story was quite predictable but also entertaining. Definitely a great book for reluctant readers!
March 29, 2017
My youngest insisted I read this since it's his favorite book so my rating is based on if you're a nine-year-old! But I can see why he likes it - edgy plot and good kid humor.
November 11, 2012
Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Jimmy, David, and Henry are off to do what they do best - skateboard. They call themselves the Woodpushers.
On a plane headed to California, they hope to skate their way into the money-filled pockets of some big-league sponsors. Along for the ride is Jimmy's younger sister, Julia, and a plane full of old ladies headed for a knitting convention.
The Woodpushers' big plans are dramatically detoured when four terrorists hijack the plane. All of the passengers ban together to overpower the hijackers, but unfortunately the pilot and co-pilot don't make it. With no one able to fly the plane, Henry uses the knowledge from his one flying lesson to crash-land the group in the deep woods of Canada. The six survivors include the three skateboarders, sister Julia, one stewardess, and Mrs. Herschel, an 80-year-old knitter.
Thanks to the amazing knowledge of Jimmy's sister, Julia, the group is able to start a fire and find water and food to survive. Readers will be entertained by crazy antics, a few scary moments, and the group's efforts to get along in a stressful situation.
Although the story is pretty unrealistic, most reluctant readers should find it entertaining and fast-paced. GETTING AIR is a fun summer read or one that will make returning to school next fall a bit more enjoyable. This one is definitely worth adding to your Dan Gutman collection.
Jimmy, David, and Henry are off to do what they do best - skateboard. They call themselves the Woodpushers.
On a plane headed to California, they hope to skate their way into the money-filled pockets of some big-league sponsors. Along for the ride is Jimmy's younger sister, Julia, and a plane full of old ladies headed for a knitting convention.
The Woodpushers' big plans are dramatically detoured when four terrorists hijack the plane. All of the passengers ban together to overpower the hijackers, but unfortunately the pilot and co-pilot don't make it. With no one able to fly the plane, Henry uses the knowledge from his one flying lesson to crash-land the group in the deep woods of Canada. The six survivors include the three skateboarders, sister Julia, one stewardess, and Mrs. Herschel, an 80-year-old knitter.
Thanks to the amazing knowledge of Jimmy's sister, Julia, the group is able to start a fire and find water and food to survive. Readers will be entertained by crazy antics, a few scary moments, and the group's efforts to get along in a stressful situation.
Although the story is pretty unrealistic, most reluctant readers should find it entertaining and fast-paced. GETTING AIR is a fun summer read or one that will make returning to school next fall a bit more enjoyable. This one is definitely worth adding to your Dan Gutman collection.
November 10, 2013
Title: getting air
author: Dan Gutman
lexile: 660
Star rating: 2 out of 5
I think personally this is an ok written book. Its about 3 kids, a flight attendant, and an old lady stranded in the middle of no were after a plane crash. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars because for a survival book, it really isn't a great one. They're lives are never really in that much danger, and they do things that a normal person would have never been able to do, like starting a fire with 2 sticks. And then after only what seems like a day of being lost, this random guy comes out of nowhere and rescues them. And then they all become super famous. The only reason I didn't give this book no stars is because the author described how all the characters felt really well.
My "favorite" part of the book is when the three kids make a half pipe (they are all obsessed with skateboarding and one of them brought his skateboard along) out of the bottom half of an airplane. And then the old granny uses the skateboard to drop into the halfpipe and lands on her butt. That was the only funny part in this story.
I would "recommend" this book to nobody because this book is really pretty bad.
DON'T READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
author: Dan Gutman
lexile: 660
Star rating: 2 out of 5
I think personally this is an ok written book. Its about 3 kids, a flight attendant, and an old lady stranded in the middle of no were after a plane crash. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars because for a survival book, it really isn't a great one. They're lives are never really in that much danger, and they do things that a normal person would have never been able to do, like starting a fire with 2 sticks. And then after only what seems like a day of being lost, this random guy comes out of nowhere and rescues them. And then they all become super famous. The only reason I didn't give this book no stars is because the author described how all the characters felt really well.
My "favorite" part of the book is when the three kids make a half pipe (they are all obsessed with skateboarding and one of them brought his skateboard along) out of the bottom half of an airplane. And then the old granny uses the skateboard to drop into the halfpipe and lands on her butt. That was the only funny part in this story.
I would "recommend" this book to nobody because this book is really pretty bad.
DON'T READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
November 4, 2013
This article makes me feel that Dan Gutman's writing style is similiar to Gary Paulsen's. They both write about many concise and entertaining novels about different topics. As seen in this book, Dan Gutman wrote in a casual and simple first person narrative, yet he addresses many controversial topics, such as terrorism and survival, by including unique and urban-centered characters and ideas. One example is when the survivors try to make fire. "'I saw this in a movie once,' he said. 'somebody get me a smooth, straight stick, about a foot and a half long,'"(pg 109). This shows how most people misconceive that fire comes from sticks rubbed together, when magnified light or flint and steel usually cause fire. Another example was during the terrorist attack, the New Jersey, skateboard crazy friends thought that the terrorists had a gun and a bomb, yet they only had a small ax with some sharp pencils. Furthermore, the survivors thought that they could hunt deer by using wood bow and arrows and a wood spear, but they had to use a odd, yet effective trap. Dan Gutman devises these exciting and critical moments in the plot to teach the reader how most of our modern day ideas are realistically incorrect.
May 14, 2014
I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the dynamics between the three boys who skateboarded together and the sister of one of the boys. I also loved the addition of 80 year old knitter and the flight attendant. While I admit we girls who read are always smarter than our brothers :), this is getting to be a little cliched in many books. With everything this young girl did, I cannot believe she does not also skateboard and outshine her brother!
Four kids on the way to the X-games find themselves on a plane with terrorist and with the help of a bunch of elderly knitters (ahem, not all knitters are elderly) and the surviving flight attendant reclaim the plane and one boy with one flight lesson helps to land the plane. Jimmy's titian skateboard, made by his dad, plays a major part in the entire story. Between Jimmy's little sister and 80 year old Mildred, they manage to stay alive. Great survival story with a skateboard theme.
Four kids on the way to the X-games find themselves on a plane with terrorist and with the help of a bunch of elderly knitters (ahem, not all knitters are elderly) and the surviving flight attendant reclaim the plane and one boy with one flight lesson helps to land the plane. Jimmy's titian skateboard, made by his dad, plays a major part in the entire story. Between Jimmy's little sister and 80 year old Mildred, they manage to stay alive. Great survival story with a skateboard theme.
April 17, 2015
This was my 1st time ever reading this book and I wanted to read this book so I could get some fast AR points and I was surprised how well I liked this book.This book is about Jason,his 3 friends and his little sister who crash land on a plane in the forest. They must learn to survive and wait to get rescued. I wish that the plot and dialogue could have been better than what it was. I really loved all the action in this book. the action just made the book more interesting.The worst part about this book was the cheesy deaths that were given. Like a 80 year old lady gets thrown out if the plane and survives. I would recommend this book to people that like action. But not people that are looking for an amazing plot and dialogue.
September 24, 2009
Skip it!! Completely unbelievable plot and characters. How could an 80 year old woman possible be thrown out of a crashing airplane, get up and walk over a kilometer, meet up with a group of kids, then walk back to where her part of the plane crashed, pick up luggage and walk back where they decided to camp. Would an 80 year old woman, a young preteen girl, a twenty something beauty, and a group of young teen boys all take off their clothes and dance around in the rain??? And the only jerks in the story are the ones who have some kind of faith in God - the hijackers and the boy who thinks he know everything, but continues to make really stupid mistakes.
May 27, 2016
Getting Air By Dan Gutman
The story "Getting Air" by Dan Gutman is about three kids named Jimmy, David, and, Henry, and they were traveling to California for the final skate boarding contest. Soon the plane crashed half way through the trip and the three kids were in the middle of now where trying to survive the dark side of "mother nature."
I personally liked this book a lot. It was very exciting and very intense. I loved the part when they are trying to get food, and not to mention the humor, its pretty funny for a survival story. I would absolutely recommend kids and adults to read thus book.
The story "Getting Air" by Dan Gutman is about three kids named Jimmy, David, and, Henry, and they were traveling to California for the final skate boarding contest. Soon the plane crashed half way through the trip and the three kids were in the middle of now where trying to survive the dark side of "mother nature."
I personally liked this book a lot. It was very exciting and very intense. I loved the part when they are trying to get food, and not to mention the humor, its pretty funny for a survival story. I would absolutely recommend kids and adults to read thus book.
July 27, 2013
Fascinating story. Of course some of it is rather unrealistic, but when you're reading a story or watching a movie you need to suspend your sense of reality. If you can't do that I'd say stick to nonfiction. I had no problem doing that for this book the adventure of 3 boys, a smarty pants little sister, and a group of old knitting ladies goes through was awesome. It sort of reminded me of a really good children's movie, like Despicable Me :) I would highly recommend this book to any kid who loves adventure, survival stories, and skateboarding!
November 4, 2009
This book was awesome jimmy and his friends are on this plane and it get hijacked and they try to save the plane before it crashes
November 7, 2013
this is a good book. I have read it twice and it still gives me tingles. must read!!
November 16, 2017
I read the book getting air by dan gutman this book contains a thrill seeking adventure through the life’s of the characters. It contains skateboarding and a lot of it the book consists of 232 awesome and exiting pages. Some of them will make you sit on the edge of your seat, make you want to just skip ahead and find out what is next. If you are into this type of thrilling adventure type of books I would definitely recommend this one to you.
Jimmy, David and Henry are all very close friends who live in the warm state of Florida. They all share one common thing that is skateboarding they all love to do it. So they all decide to try to move to California where they hope to make it big. But on there ride over there, there plane gets hijacked by terrorists. Luckily one of the skateboarders took flying lessons and was able to crash land the plane. Soon after that they we able to start a fire and make shelter. This just adds to this books total wiredness and windy thrilling path of plots that this book takes you on.
Although this book is a very thrilling and interesting plot of events there can still be a take away from it. That is to always be aware of what could come unexpectedly or expected. This can be seen when the woodpushers as they like to call them self head onto a plane that they think will take them to there dream which is to be a professional skateboarder. Takes a jolting stop when they find out there being hi jacked!
I personally would definitely recommend this book mainly because of its amazing plot and twist of events that sculpts it into the story it is. This personally intreages me because of all the interesting turn of events. This would be a good read for any one really, I mean the way it just leads you down this interesting turn of events just makes you want to just keep on reading. This was even a problem for me because I just couldn’t seem to set this book down. Because of that I would definitely suggest this book.
Jimmy, David and Henry are all very close friends who live in the warm state of Florida. They all share one common thing that is skateboarding they all love to do it. So they all decide to try to move to California where they hope to make it big. But on there ride over there, there plane gets hijacked by terrorists. Luckily one of the skateboarders took flying lessons and was able to crash land the plane. Soon after that they we able to start a fire and make shelter. This just adds to this books total wiredness and windy thrilling path of plots that this book takes you on.
Although this book is a very thrilling and interesting plot of events there can still be a take away from it. That is to always be aware of what could come unexpectedly or expected. This can be seen when the woodpushers as they like to call them self head onto a plane that they think will take them to there dream which is to be a professional skateboarder. Takes a jolting stop when they find out there being hi jacked!
I personally would definitely recommend this book mainly because of its amazing plot and twist of events that sculpts it into the story it is. This personally intreages me because of all the interesting turn of events. This would be a good read for any one really, I mean the way it just leads you down this interesting turn of events just makes you want to just keep on reading. This was even a problem for me because I just couldn’t seem to set this book down. Because of that I would definitely suggest this book.
November 18, 2019
This was the first adventure books I read and I absolutely loved it, I was drawn into every second of drama and trauma. The plot is very intense as their plane is hijacked by terrorists and it is up to them to eliminate the terrorists and survive a devastating plane crash. This was one of the first books that opened my eyes to the world of adventure novels and how much they can actually affect you. I remember as I read, I felt like I was on that plane with them and being forced to fend for myself and survive. One of the things I love most about this book is how in detail Dan Gutman wrote about every situation. I would advise this book to any older elementary or middle school student. This is a book that is beginner to mid level chapter book that will help readers with fluency and reading for pleasurement.
May 21, 2021
This is one of my favorite books ever. The book is about four kids, and one of them is a pro skateboarder, and they get high jacked by terrorist's on a plane to his skateboarding competition. They have to then survive in the wild. I give this book a five out of five because I would never want to stop reading. I could read this book five times in a day, that's how good it is. I recommend this book for people looking for a good book, and people who like survival books. If you need a nice an easy book that has a lot of action in it, this is the one for you.
August 21, 2020
Getting air is one of the best books I have read by Dan Gutman I highly recomend the book, It's these three friends going to California for the summer ready to skate next thing you know the unthinkable happen's the plane gets hijacked, But then another crazy event hapepens the plane run's out off fuel now there stuck in the middle of know where everyone on the plane is dead but Jimmy,David, and Henry.
December 9, 2016
I'd set this book to about a fourth or fifth grade read. The characters are easy for the reader to relate to and the side characters offer comedic and wise relief at breaking points of the story. Though a bit quirky and unbelievable at times, this story was entertaining and thought-provoking for the age range it is intended. I would recommend this for a group-read in an intermediate classroom.
May 11, 2017
Jimmy, David, and Henry are psyched. It's summer, school's out, and they are on their way to California, where they will be able to do some major skating. But on the plane, the unthinkable happens: They are hijacked by terrorists. As frightened as they may be, they take action and they succeed. Sort of. They may have ...more
November 13, 2017
Many young readers might appreciate the book for its fast pace, but overall I thought the book was a bit superficial, with none of the problems really feeling realistic or dangerous. For a book about a plane crash survival, I never once worried for the characters and every problem was solved far too easily. The skateboarding connection felt really disconnected from the rest of the book.
October 20, 2021
Jimmy, David, and Henry are psyched. It's summer, the school's out, and they are on their way to California, where they will be able to do some major skating. But on the plane, the unthinkable happens: They are hijacked by terrorists. As frightened as they may be, they take action and they succeed.
November 18, 2017
Amazing just love it.
December 12, 2017
This novel was a very interesting but sort of confusing. What I don't understand about the book is the plot. In the plot the kids Henry, David, , were going to an event in Califo
September 23, 2019
So completely absurd that it was amusing and I didn’t want to put it down.
December 20, 2020
It was so funny!
February 19, 2021
Recommended by Lucille and I enjoyed it! I love reading books that Lucy has enjoyed so we can connect and discuss ❤️
Want to read
August 31, 2023Read this book in 6th grade an loved it. It’s as many twist an turns a the most unexpectable stuff happens. Great book Dan Gutman never disappoints.
January 1, 2024
Brilliant didn't go where I expected
April 17, 2024
I read this book a lot as a kid. It’s probably silly now but I’m down to clown again
March 7, 2025
Fav book 4th-6th grade
Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews