Review by Booklist Review
Breen's newest picture book accompanies a young girl and her trusty canine companion, Orville, on a trial-and-error journey into the world of flight. Violet, whose creativity and love of all things mechanical alienate her from the kids at school, is passionate about flying. Hoping to wow the town and win friends with her talents, she builds a plane and enters an air show, only to be waylaid en route to the competition. In the end, however, she achieves her goal though it's not her acrobatics and engineering skills that win her recognition but her quick thinking and valor. Breen makes good use of both comedy and perspective in action-packed pictures that show Violet and Orville looping it up in a variety of wacky flying ships. This will make a great read-aloud; take it on a trip, and youngsters will happily follow along.--Jensen, Rebecca Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-An engaging story of a spunky girl who follows her dreams. A precocious child, Violet could fix household appliances at age two. At four, she could take apart and reassemble a grandfather clock. Her mechanical skills were amazing; her social skills were not. At age eight, Violet creates elaborate flying machines using parts from her family's junkyard, but still has no friends. Other kids find her strange and make fun of her, and her only companion is her dog, Orville. When she sees a poster for an upcoming air show, she hopes to win acceptance by participating with one of her homemade contraptions. She builds a magnificent aircraft, but on her way to the show, she passes over a river and spots several Boy Scouts who are floundering in the rapids. She stops to rescue them and misses the event. Violet thinks she has lost her chance for approval, until the townspeople declare her their hero. Done in watercolors, acrylics, and Photoshop, the lively cartoon artwork evokes a nostalgic setting. Violet's various inventions are clever and amusing. Children will be inspired by her ability to find happiness with herself, despite the rejection of her peers. Violet is a terrific role model and her story would enhance most collections.-Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Violet, ostracized for creating flying machines instead of being girly, hopes to earn respect by winning an air show. She misses the show when, en route, she rescues some boy scouts--which carries its own rewards. There's a message-y, plot-by-numbers aspect to the story for which the mixed-media illustrations, spotlighting Violet's inventions (the Bicycopter, the Pogo Plane), partly compensate. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Violet Van Winkle is an inventor with a flair for air. Her father manages a junkyard and while other girls play with dolls and tea sets, Violet is busy tinkering with monkey wrenches and needle-nosed pliers building elaborate contraptions, especially flying machines, like her Bicycopter, Pogo Plane and Wing-a-ma-jig. Kids at school make fun of her, but Violet hopes that if she wins an air-show competition with her special plane, The Hornet, they'll be nice to her. On show day, she carefully calculates her flying time but diverts from her course to rescue a troop of Boy Scouts who have fallen into a river and drops them (literally) at the hospital. Sadly, her heroism makes her too late to enter the air show but her misery evaporates when the mayor presents her with a medal of valor. The comical cover is a grabber: Violet is piloting a homemade plane wearing a helmet and goggles and blowing bubble gum with Orville, her dog's ears streaming in the wind like her scarf. The cartoon illustrations of watercolor, acrylic and pencil soar with inventive details and angles, e.g. close-up of Violet's face in midair with bugs on her teeth. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
