Me and My Flying Machine

by Marianna Mayer, Mercer Mayer

A boy visualizes all the incredible things his flying machine will be able to do when he finishes building it in the barn.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Classics, Fiction

41 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1971

About the author

Marianna Mayer is a children's book author and artist recognized for her beautifully written retellings of classic folk and fairy tales. Born in New York City, she began her artistic training early and studied at the Art Students League after a year of college. Her first book was published at the age of nineteen. Mayer has authored several acclaimed works, including Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave, Pegasus, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses, often collaborating with renowned illustrators such as Kinuko Y. Craft and Michael Hague. She was previously married to illustrator Mercer Mayer.

Reviews

[Rod Brown]

Ugh! Another book about a boy spending the whole book imagining and daydreaming immediately after the awful The Wonderful Tree House by Harold Longman and Harry Devlin. At least this one has some nice art by Mercer Mayer.

But it does have a dated reference to the indigenous people of the northern climes.

Anyhow, at least this one ends on a little twist, and I amused myself greatly while reading it aloud to my wife by ad libbing an inappropriate interjection before the final sentence: And then before I could pull it out of the barn . . . my flying machine fell apart. Fuck it! Tomorrow I'll build a rowboat.

[Michelle]

I read this repeatedly as a child. It made a HUGE impression on me. It's about dreaming, wonder and DOING. I remember enjoying the rich illustrations. I highly recommend this for the children in your life. Oh, and eventually I did earn my private pilot certificate!

[Graywaren]

Cute and beautifully illustrated and the story was lovely, right up until the very end. I love how the little kid came up with and built his machine and then dreamed of all the things he would do with it and the places he'd go. It was wonderful, until....... the machine he built breaks apart. I saw it coming, but what I didn't see coming was the fact that he gives up on it and decides to build a row boat. Right up until that point I was in love with this book, but after that it seemed like he gave up on his dream for something more practical. I would have preferred he continue to pursue his dream of the flying machine. That would have been a better moral for the story.

[Crazy Uncle Ryan]

I used to check this book out just about every day when I was in kindergarden. I would come home and say: "Mom, guess what book I got" and she would say "Me and my flying machine?" and I would proudly acknowledge that I had. I should probably try and find it again.

[Adele]

The contrast between the flying machine the little boy builds in reality with the machine in his imagination is perfect. Just perfect. He dreams about a fantastical castle-like machine at first sure, but even in his imagination he settles for something smaller and imagines a flying machine that looks like something he might could actually build from parts he found in an abandoned barn. His finished product doesn't look quite like he envisioned, but nothing that a little paint won't fix! His optimism, his determination, his resilience in the face of set-backs - in addition to nostalgia this book is uplifting and feel-good for me. As always the illustrations by Mercer Mayer are top notch. This makes me want to collect everything illustrated by Mercer Mayer prior to his Little Critter stage ( I love his Little Critter books too, but those illustrations, while great, are not as magical for me.)

PART OF:
Another batch of childhood memories I now own physical copies of again thanks to my amazing husband. See the complete list of books I have remembered so far here

[Farrah]

I had a little smile on my face the entire time I was reading this--books primarily set in the sky tend to do that to me

[Gjergj Arianiti]

Solid children's book with cute illustrations

[Deborah]

Mercer Mayer always has such a distinct style. The story takes us on a ride to see just how far a little boy's imagination can stretch for his invention ❤️❤️

[Hannah]

I loved this book as a child and recently found it again! The illustrations and spirit of this story on the power of imagination and ingenuity still holds up for me!

[Leilani Wilson]

This was an adorable book that I think many children would enjoy. The art was beautiful as well.

[Holly]

I found this book in our used book store and thought I'd give it try. It's a great adventure story that's easy to read and fast paced. My son likes to turn the pages and point out the different pictures and chatter away while I read it to him. Now, I just got to have it rebounded because it's old and falling apart.

[Bill Doughty]

I don't remember much about this beyond the fact that a kid cobbles together a flying machine that may or may not actually work from household objects. My older sister used to read it to me a lot, though, and I seem to recall really enjoying it.

[Heidi FAUSETT]

A very imaginative wonderful children's story book.

[Cheryl Richardson]

The third of my favorite book trio as a child!

[Robert Davis]

A boy visualizes all the incredible things his flying machine will be able to do when he finishes building it in the barn.

[Alexandra]

Perfect for little ones who love to build and dream big!

[Kristen]

It is important to dream.