Angela's Airplane

by Robert Munsch, Michael Martchenko (Illustrator)

While looking for her lost father at the airport, Angela ends up in the front of the plane. She decides to push just one button, and then another ... and another ...

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Canada, Fiction, Humor, Storytime, Kids

24 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1988

About the author

Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Fordham University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and from Boston University in 1971 with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology.

He studied to become a Jesuit priest, but decided he would rather work with children after jobs at orphanages and daycare centers. In 1973, he received a Master of Education in Child Studies from Tufts University. In 1975 he moved to Canada to work at the preschool at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. He also taught in the Department of Family Studies at the University of Guelph as a lecturer and as an assistant professor. In Guelph he was encouraged to publish the many stories he made up for the children he worked with.

Munsch's wife delivered two stillborn babies in 1979 and 1980. Out of the tragedy, he produced one of his best-known books, Love You Forever. This book was listed fourth on the 2001 Publishers Weekly All-Time Best selling Children's Books list for paperbacks at 6,970,000 copies (not including the 1,049,000 hardcover copies). The Munsches have since become adoptive parents of Julie, Andrew and Tyya (see them all in Something Good!)

Munsch has obsessive-compulsive disorder and has also suffered from manic depression. In August 2008, Munsch suffered a stroke that affected his ability to speak in normal sentences. He has recovered enough that he is able to perform live, but has put his writing career on hold until he is fully recovered.

Reviews

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Children's book that I read to my twin boys. I found this book to be so funny and cute. I love that my boys found this book to be funny. I really loved the ending of this book because it shows that you really cannot grow up to become anything you want. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Annick Press) or author (Robert Munsch) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angela is a curious sort. When she cannot find her father at the airport, Angela goes looking amongst all the airplanes. Climbing into one, she tempts herself by pressing a button, then another, and even one more, until she is high in the air. A sense of panic comes upon her and she contacts someone over the radio. They help her land, though the airplane is worse off after a shoddy landing. Angela has discovered a new passion, though she vows never to fly a plane again... as a child. Neo loves flying and liked to see other kids having the chance to press buttons in the cockpit. He thinks that he would like to try it when we fly next.

[Chantel · Rating 3 out of 5]

As part of their ‘Early Reader’ re-release, some of the classic works of the beloved Robert Munsch have been adapted to include a guide that is placed to help a young reader explore sounds, consonants, character voices & plot comprehension.

Cheeky, curious Angela is wandering around without her father at an airport & stumbles upon an airplane that is unmanned. Of course, she asks herself permission to wander in & touch a button—just one button. To which a slew of chaos & adventure ensues, culminating in Angela landing the plane & becoming a pilot when she is all grown up.

Munsch’s stories are uncomplicated & quick. They rely on the reader’s imagination & ability to marvel at the absurd. This is certainly not a negative thing. This story highlights how such a short book can hold so very much—Angela flew a six-propeller plane all alone! Without holding on to fear or worry, she decided that she had enjoyed her experience so very much that it merited making it into a full-blown career.

By relying on the imagination of a child to read something so pointed—a crazy story some might feel—& allowing them to view what might be a scary event as something that can be turned around & brought to life—a career as a pilot, for example—children may be allowed to dream to their fullest abilities without worrying about any pebbles in the road or being held back by the mistakes they may have made.

Thank you to NetGalley, Annick Press Ltd & Robert Munsch for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Diana N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh no! A 5 year old should not be flying an airplane!

This is a fun early reader that is engaging and focuses on words that start with the letter "A." This whole series of books does a great job at focusing on particular letters and has repetitive words to help learning. The silliness kept my 1st grader enjoying the book and she loved the additional activities at the end. These books are a great tool to help build reader confidence.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely not a favourite. I don't remember reading this one before, and reading it in a post-9/11 world (and especially at a time when certain Boeing jets are falling out of the sky), I felt rather uncomfortable.

Here we have the story of five-year-old Angela who goes to the airport with her father. She promptly loses him. In the process of seeking him out, she wanders onto an airplane. Of course, being five years old, she loves to push buttons. So she pushes one. And then another. And then another. Soon she's up in the air, and the air traffic controllers have to talk her down. This leads to the most unrealistic plane crash ever, with Angela sitting in the midst of the broken plane without a scratch on her. Her father makes her promise to never fly another airplane. Then she goes and breaks that promise by growing up to become a pilot.

I'm just not sure what the point of this one is supposed to be. It's not like the events depicted could ever happen, so the unrealistic way Angela gets the plane in the air doesn't really bother me. The crash does. It's either going to scare kids (because the book makes it look like landing is a very precarious procedure) or give them an unrealistic idea of what'll happen if they're ever in a crash. If the plane is in tiny pieces all around you, it's highly unlikely you're going to walk away without a scratch. (Not that I wanted to see the kid carted off in an ambulance, either. I just don't think this part of the story works, and I don't know if there's a way that it could be made to work.)

The repetition and amusing illustrations that we see in other Munsch/Martchenko collaborations are there, but I just wasn't feeling this one. Oh, well. Maybe the next book I read from this team will be better.

[Mashed Potato · Rating 4 out of 5]

read as part of the 2020 readEHthon!
challenges:
- a canadian children's book
- red on the cover

i like this because angela is a disaster and still became a pilot

[Libby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Angela should be in jail!!!! Lock her up!!! She should not be allowed to be a pilot. What is wrong with sick and twisted children's authors these days.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

After finding a great success elsewhere in this series, this didn't seem to hit the same marks. Angela stumbles her way into taking command of an empty plane and causing it to take to the skies – and then has the problem of returning it. Here we get the phonics lessons and extra material to make it all cool and interactive yet educational, but the text pages were a lot denser, and the cheeky charm was replaced by just the bonkers lack of reality. Still, it's harmless stuff – just middling stuff.

[Marlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, funny, and silly. Robert Munsch's books are a favorite in our house.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in The Munschworks Grand Treasury. This has lots in common with several of the other works, but I worked hard to judge it as if I were new to Munsch's themes. And in that sense it succeeds marvelously, especially the ending 'epilogue.'

[Zoey · Rating 4 out of 5]

While unrealistic, it is a fun story of a kid discovering what their dreams are and going for them in adulthood. Some interests change over time, but we all have that one dream since we were kids and very few actually go for it. I want to be an author, I’ve since started to write a story. It’s been a childhood dream. While I may have different priorities, it is one I am trying to fulfill. Live life with as few regrets as possible.

[Natalie Hills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Munsch book, but it was okay. I'm not a fan of super unrealistic things when reading to younger kids, but the illustrations were done in a classic Munsch manner, which was appreciated. As a parent, it made me uncomfortable for some reason. Like, NOOOO a 5 year old is the only one controlling a plane. That's not going to end well at all. hahaha

[paige turner ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, it was funny, it was weird, but there's just something that isn't making me fall in love with this book. I think it's because it is ridiculously unrealistic, and planes scare me. But Angela is just curious, and this whole situation could have made her scared of planes; instead, she decided to become a pilot when she grew up!

That's pretty neat, I think.

[Antonio Feitoza Gomes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sorry but this is HORRIBLE. I detested this story. It’s a fable to teach kids not to meddle with things they don’t understand, but it is also scary as hell. I am an adult who loves flying but I know lots of people - including children - who are very scared of it and this is traumatizing.

Big skip here.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angela is curious and finds her way onto an airplane where she pushed a lot of buttons. OOPS! She's five years old and doesn't know how to fly an airplane - but the airplane takes off! What an adventure.

[Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Angela's Airplane , Robert Munsch tells the story of Angela, a little girl who loses her father at the airport and accidentally ends up flying a plane. The airplane crashes but Angela is saved and her father makes her promise to never fly a plane again.

I like the bones of this story. The books ends with Angela as an adult who grew up to become an airplane pilot. Munsch shows how moments throughout one's childhood can shape their sense of self and future aspirations. That said, the execution wasn't as tight as some of Munsch's other books. For example, after the childhood crash, Angela's dad makes her promise to never fly another plane again. Angela promises and said "I promise, I promise, I promise." Then, on the very next page, Munsch describes how Angela didn't fly a plane for a very long time but she did become a flight attendant. I

[FM Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun but short one which I'd never gotten to as a kid. Silly story where Angela ends up taking off in an airplane and smashing the whole thing to pieces. Everyone freaks out and everything is ok in the end in classic Robert Munsch style

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello Book Peeps

I liked this better than Show and Tell and 50 Below Zero.

I was really sure we were going to get a Sixth Sense moment in this read but there wasn't one.

I really thought the ending was cool and I would recommend this one to younger readers

Happy Reading

Jo

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

I actually feel kind of bad giving Robert Munsch a three star, because I like him as an author. This book is cute and fun and very short. A parent may be able to use it as a book to discuss future careers.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le leí este libro a mi hija (2 años) y le gustó tanto que ella pidió que yo le recontara cuando nos acostamos esta noche. ¡Perfecto!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students (k-2) loved it.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story, but the ending was kind of loose.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't love this one.

[Rachel Gonzaloz De Reta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angela es tan tremenda como Valentina mi bb de 1 año 9 meses

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

That picture of Angela in the wreckage, it reminded me of what rooms look like after Maddie and Kait have any sort of adventure or play date.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angela has quite a mishap at the airport when her dad gets lost and she wanders on to a plane.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is definitely a sort of white-washed darkness in each of the Munsch books I have read. I'm not terribly comfortable with it, but the books are well done and entertaining.

[Checkthebook · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author is not for us.

[Tristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toddler re-read rating: 4/5

[KhiN’Millie Friesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

She became a pilot like the time she was little - Khi 3