Quite the niche book all round, but not one I would ever dissuade the right school library from purchasing, this looks at Canadian aviation. We get the history of that and of the Canadian Air Force, before starting to look at the pioneers chosen for entry – POCs (pilots of colour), Indigenous air crew and important aviatrixes all feature. After that we close with further sections that aim us on the right path to following in their contrails and having the same airbound careers.

It's not the comprehensive history of stars of flight, mind – like so many woke efforts it actively promotes minority achievements rather than acknowledging much of the rest of history. It has a clumsy flow with so many box-outs in the earlier sections, and details about certain planes' merits surely count for little until you're actually on an airstrip. But if there is a general aviation history book in your collection, this acts as a great extra to it, and by default it takes the representation of minorities sky high.

What a great lot of things to know and applaud! Don't think of this as a "kids book" but rather as a history and future collection of useful information presented in a fascinating way and full of photographs. Some of these things are: where to train, different planes and when they are used, Canadian flying history, problems of enlistment in WW1 for black and indigenous people, the
Black Battalion of WW1, RCAF was first Canadian military to recruit women and what became the Women's Division of the RCAF, hooray for the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and their aerobatics team, Medevac services, and how to become a pilot in Canada.
Terrific for gifting and/or recommending to a school or your local public library!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected e-Galley proof on NetGalley Reader from Nimbus Publishing | Nimbus Publishing Limited via NetGalley. Avail now.
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First book I ever read on the Canadian Air Force.
I really liked the set up of the book. It started by explaining the different types of pilots and giving a brief introduction on the Canadian Air Force.
When it goes into talking about the first world war and Second World War. Including personal stories from people who flew including African-Americans, indigenous people and women.
There is a lot of history as well as talking about pilots today and training.
It’s written in a way that kids can understand, but it’s also a good brief history for anyone curious.