Air Miles by John Burningham, Bill Salaman and Helen Oxenbury - ESSENTIAL

Air Miles by John Burningham and Bill Salaman, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick, 2021. $19. 9780857552198

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Miles is an old dog. His owner, Norman, is sad because Miles doesn't want to play games anymore. It hurts to walk, so Miles doesn't want to be as active. When he was younger, Miles used to drive a car that his neighbor had made especially for him. So when Norman notices that Miles is slowing down, he goes to see his neighbor to see what to do. His neighbor builds Miles an airplane. One day, Miles went flying his new airplane into the sky.

I liked the symbolism of the car and the airplane. Having recently put down my dog of 13 years, this book really hit home. I liked how simple it seemed, yet how deep it actually was. This helped my 3 year old daughter make a connection as to what happened with her dog. 

A. Criswell, English Language Teacher