{"id":1922,"date":"2018-04-21T18:24:44","date_gmt":"2018-04-21T23:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learningtostem.com\/?p=1922"},"modified":"2018-04-21T18:24:44","modified_gmt":"2018-04-21T23:24:44","slug":"violet-pilot-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learningtostem.com\/violet-pilot-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Violet the Pilot: Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
From the Publisher:<\/a><\/strong><\/br>\u201cBy the time she\u2019s two years old, Violet Van Winkle can engineer nearly any appliance in the house. And by eight she\u2019s building elaborate flying machines from scratch\u2014mind-boggling contraptions such as the Tubbubbler, the Bicycopter, and the Wing-a-ma-jig.<\/br>
\nThe kids at school tease her, but they have no idea what she\u2019s capable of. Maybe she could earn their respect by winning the blue ribbon in the upcoming Air Show. Or maybe something even better will happen\u2014something involving her best-ever invention, a Boy Scout troop in peril, and even the mayor himself!\u201d \u2013Penguin Random House<\/div><\/div>\n
\n<\/br>\"Violet<\/a><\/br>
Check Amazon Reviews<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

My Review<\/h2>\n

As mentioned in our review of Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea<\/a>, \u201cwomen in STEM\u201d books have become favorites around our house. Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen, while a fictional tale, is still a picture book to put in this category. This beautiful book showcases a STEM-loving female protagonist whose interests and abilities initially make her an outcast, but ultimately a town hero.<\/br>
\nBreen portrays Violet as a girl that loves design, engineering, and building. In fact, this is how Violet prefers to spend the majority of her time, even though the kids at school ridicule her for it. But instead of conforming to the ideals of her peers, Violet sets out to show them just how good she is at engineering by entering her own custom-built plane in an airshow.<\/br>
\n\"Design<\/a>
\nI appreciate how Violet doesn\u2019t try to change what she loves or try to become someone different based on the opinions of the other children at school. This not only sends readers a powerful message of self-love and acceptance, but also communicates the idea that STEM learning can be recreational. Breen shows Violet\u2019s building and design process as incredibly fun, engaging, and achievable. Plus, Violet builds her machines outside of school time, so Breen also shows the potential for STEM activities to exist outside of the classroom.<\/br>
\nThe text isn\u2019t overtly technical and doesn\u2019t explain engineering concepts outright, but Breen\u2019s illustrations pay homage to famous scientists and aviators. Breen, who is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, creates scenes of Violet\u2019s bedroom with photos of Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and Leonardo Di Vinci upon her walls. Breen also ends the story by showing the protagonist herself on the cover of Popular Science Magazine.<\/br>
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\nI particularly love how Violet the Pilot shows STEM learning as being inspirational: ultimately, Violet\u2019s efforts in building her own aircraft allow her to actually save lives and become the town hero. But the true magic in this story really lies in how it can encourage children to foster their developing love of science, design, building, or engineering. Violet the Pilot might just be the story that nudges your child to spend more free time building, tinkering, or designing because it shows these activities as ambitious, exciting, important, and just plain fun!


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