What do you think?
Rate this book
Mr. Small #3
The Little Airplane
Mr. Small is a high-flying pilot in this adventure! Pilot Small prepares for his flight, and then enjoys the bird’s-eye view from above. As fresh today as when it was first published, this fun and informative look at flying is perfect for airplane trips.
56 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1938
About the author
Lois Lenski
190 books197 followersLois Lenore Lenski Covey was an influential American author and illustrator whose work reshaped twentieth-century children’s literature through its combination of artistic skill, documentary realism, and deep empathy for childhood experience. Beginning her publishing career in the late 1920s, she went on to write and illustrate nearly one hundred books, ranging from picture books and historical novels to regional fiction, poetry, songbooks, and literary essays. She is best known for the Mr. Small picture book series, her meticulously researched historical novels, and her groundbreaking Regional books, which portrayed the everyday lives of children across diverse American communities.
Born in Ohio and trained formally as both an educator and an artist, Lenski studied at Ohio State University, the Art Students League of New York, and the Westminster School of Art in London. Although she initially aspired to be a painter, exhibiting work in New York galleries, she gradually turned to illustration and then to writing, encouraged by pioneering children’s editor Helen Dean Fish. Her early books drew heavily on her Midwestern childhood, while later works reflected extensive travel, field research, and close observation of family and community life.
Lenski achieved major critical recognition with her historical novels Phebe Fairchild: Her Book and Indian Captive, and with her Regional novel Strawberry Girl, which won the Newbery Medal. These works were notable for their commitment to authenticity, incorporating dialect, material culture, and social realities often avoided in children’s books of the era. She believed that literature for young readers should neither sentimentalize nor sanitize life, but instead foster understanding, tolerance, and empathy.
Alongside her own writing, Lenski illustrated works by other major authors, including Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could and the early volumes of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. Her influence extended beyond publishing through lectures, teaching, and advocacy. In 1967 she established the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, dedicated to providing books to children facing social and economic disadvantage.
In her later years, Lenski continued writing while living in Florida, publishing her autobiography Journey into Childhood shortly before her death. Her legacy endures through her books, her educational philosophy, and ongoing efforts to expand access to literature for children.
Born in Ohio and trained formally as both an educator and an artist, Lenski studied at Ohio State University, the Art Students League of New York, and the Westminster School of Art in London. Although she initially aspired to be a painter, exhibiting work in New York galleries, she gradually turned to illustration and then to writing, encouraged by pioneering children’s editor Helen Dean Fish. Her early books drew heavily on her Midwestern childhood, while later works reflected extensive travel, field research, and close observation of family and community life.
Lenski achieved major critical recognition with her historical novels Phebe Fairchild: Her Book and Indian Captive, and with her Regional novel Strawberry Girl, which won the Newbery Medal. These works were notable for their commitment to authenticity, incorporating dialect, material culture, and social realities often avoided in children’s books of the era. She believed that literature for young readers should neither sentimentalize nor sanitize life, but instead foster understanding, tolerance, and empathy.
Alongside her own writing, Lenski illustrated works by other major authors, including Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could and the early volumes of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. Her influence extended beyond publishing through lectures, teaching, and advocacy. In 1967 she established the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, dedicated to providing books to children facing social and economic disadvantage.
In her later years, Lenski continued writing while living in Florida, publishing her autobiography Journey into Childhood shortly before her death. Her legacy endures through her books, her educational philosophy, and ongoing efforts to expand access to literature for children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
March 31, 2012
This series of books is perfect if you have a child with specific obsessions like airplanes or firefighters. I got so tired of books that just show pictures of different planes and explain a little a bit about each one. This follows a pilot from take-off to landing, providing all the little details that you think would bore your child but actually fascinate him.
December 4, 2018
Cute little board book about a plane, perfect for the littles.
July 30, 2020
The Little Airplane I've enjoyed the Mr. Small books in the past though this one was new-to-me. It was originally published in 1938 and I can just imagine how thrilled children of the day were since airplanes were still so new and exciting then. The illustrations are charming. The text, to me, is a little tedious and dry in places, but then my two boys were riveted and I think it contains the type of "how to" details that many children really enjoy. For example:
"Pilot Small decides to make a right turn. He pushes the stick to the right. This lowers the aileron on the left wing and raises the aileron on the right wing. At the same time, he presses on the rudder bar with his right foot, turning the rudder to the right. The plane banks and turns to the right. Then he straightens the rudder and puts the stick back in neutral, to come out of the turn. He continues on a straight course."
I would absolutely recommend it to any young readers today with an interest in airplanes.
"Pilot Small decides to make a right turn. He pushes the stick to the right. This lowers the aileron on the left wing and raises the aileron on the right wing. At the same time, he presses on the rudder bar with his right foot, turning the rudder to the right. The plane banks and turns to the right. Then he straightens the rudder and puts the stick back in neutral, to come out of the turn. He continues on a straight course."
I would absolutely recommend it to any young readers today with an interest in airplanes.
October 18, 2019
I love the simplicity of Lenski's illustrations and text. I think that young children who are interested in "how things work" would love this.
July 27, 2016
I read this book whilst holding my son in my arms which turned the story into some real life zooming and spinning through the air which he absolutely loved. As far as stories go, it's a fairly basic story that details the process of Mr Small's flight. In the process it also can be used to introduce elements of perspective (commenting on how small people look from up high in the air), weather (how the clouds look from above) and of course most obviously about airplanes/airports as well.
January 13, 2008
Sweetly technical. Son loves it.
March 25, 2014
A cute toddler aged book with some big vocabulary words.
March 29, 2015
Easy to read, fun story about the adventures of a little pilot and his little airplane.
January 30, 2020
First sentence: Pilot Small has a little airplane. He keeps it in the hangar at the airport.
Premise/plot: Pilot Small stars in Lois Lenski’s The Little Airplane, a picture book originally published in 1938. While there was something simplistic about Cowboy Small and the Little Sailboat, I found this one to be technical and complex. It offers a perhaps dated but nonetheless detailed look at piloting a small aircraft.
My thoughts: This one offers the slightest of stories. It is packed with information. I can imagine little boys with dreams of flying one day might have really enjoyed this one.
Text:3/5
Illustrations:3/5
Total:6/10
Premise/plot: Pilot Small stars in Lois Lenski’s The Little Airplane, a picture book originally published in 1938. While there was something simplistic about Cowboy Small and the Little Sailboat, I found this one to be technical and complex. It offers a perhaps dated but nonetheless detailed look at piloting a small aircraft.
My thoughts: This one offers the slightest of stories. It is packed with information. I can imagine little boys with dreams of flying one day might have really enjoyed this one.
Text:3/5
Illustrations:3/5
Total:6/10
July 21, 2025
a fantastic little board book about flying an airplane. this would be perfect for babies or super young toddlers but my almost 3-year-old enjoys it as well. there aren't very many words on a page, the pictures are interesting but simple, and the story is easy to follow. I had a hunch this was older but I didn't realize it was originally published in the 1930s!
January 26, 2018
Sweet book. Not my favorite of the Smalls books by Lois but definitely a good read your children will likely love. It was a little too detailed with all the plane parts for my child reading enjoyment. Sweet though!
April 30, 2019
Among the high stack of airplane books, "Captain Small!" is consistently requested. If it had been written after the 2000s, the ending would have been an invited and predictable surprise. Maybe in the modern sequel?
October 19, 2020
Mr. Small is a high-flying pilot in this adventure! Pilot Small prepares for his flight, and then enjoys the bird’s-eye view from above. As fresh today as when it was first published, this fun and informative look at flying is perfect for airplane trips.
May 9, 2017
Mom: This is a very technical little book. I was impressed by the vocabulary and the amount of detail.
August 26, 2017
Someone donated an old copy of this book to the library. A fun memory from my childhood...a lovely book! I wonder of there Mrs. Small or Miss Small books?
September 7, 2017
Found out about this series through AmblesideOnline.org.
January 31, 2018
Great story about a pilot, detailing how the levers work etc. Very nice.
July 27, 2018
I like the way this book is written to reach out and be understandable to children. Cute story.
May 25, 2019
Read the board book to my 2 y/o and 9 month old and they both enjoyed it.
September 22, 2019
my grandkids love this book!!!!!!!!
September 1, 2020
The pictures were cute, but the story was lacking.
August 14, 2022
Soared to new heights.
October 8, 2022
It's a little outdated with the pictures but the basics of the plane are fine. Kiddo loved it!
Read
February 15, 2024Kinda cute, but not really my thing.
January 3, 2025
The airplanes keep reminding me of agong ama
May 7, 2025
If you ever time travel back to 1930 and emergency need to fly a plane, you will be all set if you've read this book. Way more mechanical detail than any other Papa Small book.
June 9, 2012
Up to this point my nephew and I have really enjoyed these "Mr. Small" books by Lois Lenski. This one was a little harder to enjoy, though. There is a lot of technical stuff in here about how Pilot Small gets his airplane to perform as it does, and I guess that's all well and good if the child you're reading this book to is all about airplanes. The text is longer and more detailed than other Mr. Small books, and this one didn't hold my four year old nephew's attention quite as well as books like Cowboy Small, The Little Auto, or The Little Farm. He still liked the book, but I don't think he was captivated by it.
February 5, 2017
This book was on my shelf before I started school. It had belonged to a cousin of mine -- older, male, only child, who did not take care of his books. I remember not liking the story (and thereafter avoiding any books about airplanes). Several of the pages had tears.
So, my rating is based on my 4-year-old opinion. If I ever read this again, I might change my rating.
So, my rating is based on my 4-year-old opinion. If I ever read this again, I might change my rating.
July 27, 2023
Updated review: April 18, 2022
2.5 stars
That's a lot of technical information about flying an airplane. Went over my 7 year old's head.
Original review: 2019
This little picture book is too complex for my four-year-old to understand. We more enjoyed it just for the vintage style illustrations. This would be better suited for the 8+ kiddos. Lengthy text. Detailed information on how Pilot Small flies his plane.
2.5 stars
That's a lot of technical information about flying an airplane. Went over my 7 year old's head.
Original review: 2019
This little picture book is too complex for my four-year-old to understand. We more enjoyed it just for the vintage style illustrations. This would be better suited for the 8+ kiddos. Lengthy text. Detailed information on how Pilot Small flies his plane.
June 5, 2014
A charming children's story book about Pilot small and his airplane. Written in simple enough language for children to understand, yet technical enough to challenge them and learn flight terms. It also shows the importance of safety and the value of figuring out and fixing problems that arise. Definitely one I would enjoy reading over and over to my son (;
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews