Ann Can Fly - A Book Review.

My dad is a retired Air Traffic Controller and a pilot. When I was young, everything I did was aviation-related. My brother and I would draw a radar scope on cardboard, close the curtains, shut off lights (except a tiny light), and pretend our bedroom was an air traffic control radar room. I wanted to be a pilot so bad that my dad got posters of cockpits on poster boards and mounted them on my closet doors, and with an old headset and charts, I would spend hours flying a Cessna 172 or a LearJet 35. 

So when I found ‘Ann Can Fly’, by Fred Phleger Robert Lopshire (Illustrator), at the Rosehill Elementary School library I was over joyed, as the library had very few aviation-related books.. The library had two copies, a green cover, and a red cover; I always checked out the red cover for whatever reason. I am not sure what grade I started to check out this book, but I would always check the red cover book out almost weekly. 

‘Ann Can Fly’ is the story of Ann’s father taking her to summer camp at Camp Lake Wood in his Cessna 182 with floats (the ability to land on water). After going to the Flight Service Station (FSS) to check the weather, fuel the airplane, and do a preflight, they depart San Diego, California. At Lake Mead, they land on the water for a fuel stop. They stopped overnight and stayed directly on the flight line at an airport motel steps away from their airplane.  

The following day, they continued to the summer camp. Along the way, Ann’s father allows her to fly. (I remember flying with my dad, who allowed me to pilot the aircraft, but being unable to see over the panel, I had to fly on instruments.) Before they arrive at the summer camp, there is a storm, and Ann’s father has to find the lake through a break in the clouds and then land on Camp Lake Wood’s lake. And the final scene is Ann telling her friends about the flight, something I used to do with friends. 

Growing up, I was extremely shy and socially insecure; ‘Ann Can Fly’ became highly relatable and helped me see past some of my issues. Therefore, I could not think of a better book for my first review and post on Chandler’s Reads than the book I learned to read and my first novel (for a first grader, it is). ‘Ann Can Fly’ is an easy and enjoyable read for a young person interested in aviation and gives a glimpse into 1959 aviation. 

What was the first book you remember reading as a child? Was there a childhood book that had a special meaning to you? Please leave a comment. Thank you for visiting Chandler’s Reads. Have a nice day.

“Ann Can Fly” by Fred Phleger, Robert Lopshire (Illustrator), Random House Books for Young Readers First Edition, September 12, 1959, Hardcover, 63 pages. ISBN 039490012X