March 2nd is World Book Day in the UK, and children up and down the country have been celebrating by dressing up as their favorite fictional characters, with the likes of Harry Potter and Gruffalo expected to be as popular as ever.

But are there any aviation-themed books and characters that might inspire future generations to develop an interest in the industry? The following shortlist of books has been put together with young readers in mind:

• Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering by Ruth Spiro - using examples of birds, aircraft, and rockets, this book explains the basics of flight in a colorful way - ideal for young learners aged 0-4.
• Maisy Goes On A Plane by Lucy Cousins - this best-selling book follows the step-by-step journey of Maisy Mouse as she gets on a plane for the first time - great for preparing small children for their first flight.

• The Pilot Ollie And The Pilot Polly by Captain Robert Johnson - written by a commercial pilot, this series of books portrays 12 characters, each with a different job, highlighting to older children the variety of career opportunities available within aviation.
• The Big Book Of Airplanes by Caroline Bingham - this non-fiction book looks at various types of commercial and military aircraft. For each one, it gives a series of facts and figures, helping children, young and old, to distinguish between different aircraft types.

Getting involved with World Book Day

Back in 2019, London Stansted Airport (STN) launched its own World Book Day competition. Children at local schools were tasked with putting together aviation-related short stories and poems. The winning entries were then published in a special book that was distributed to the millions of passengers who passed through the airport that summer. The lucky winners also received a series of prizes, including an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of London Stansted Airport.

At the time, the airport's head of corporate social responsibility, Marcella M’Rabety, underlined the importance of the competition, saying,

“We want to encourage local students to let their imaginations run wild and share their best creative efforts with us and our young passengers. The competition allows us to further engage with the schools in our community and offers a unique chance for students to share their work with the millions of passengers who will travel from London Stansted on their summer holidays this year.”

Unfortunately, London Stansted Airport has not held the competition again since the pandemic struck. The airport has, however, continued to demonstrate its commitment to future generations with its on-site Aerozone education center. Featuring a library of books, a scale model of the airport, and uniforms of different roles around the airport that children can try on, the center has welcomed over 10,000 local students since it opened in 2015. Aerozone's popularity shows no sign of dwindling - sessions are already fully booked for the rest of this academic year.

Soar With Reading

On the other side of the Atlantic, JetBlue placed a series of free book vending machines across New Jersey last year, as part of its Soar With Reading initiative. Although the books were not specifically linked to aviation, the scheme highlighted the importance that reading plays in childhood development.

To date, Soar With Reading has donated over $4 million worth of books to disadvantaged children, and there are hopes that the US low-cost carrier will run the initiative again this summer.

Looking for aviation-themed books for adult readers? Take a look at 5 must-read books recommended by the Simple Flying team.

Have you been celebrating World Book Day with an aviation theme? Which flying-related books inspired you as a child? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Your Harlow