Me and My Flying Machine

Me and My Flying Machine
Marianna and Mercer Mayer
Parents' Magazine Press, 1971

Yes, it's true. I have a gigantic soft spot for Mercer Mayer, but if you read this blog with any regularity, you already know that. Had never set eyes on this story until last week... and not to be sexist here, but what an awesome book to give to a little boy (or girl... but I'm biased toward the former.) Illustrated by Mercer and written by his first wife, the tale begins...

Last summer I discovered an old barn.
It was full of great things.
There were boxes, pieces of wood.
There were even nails and a hammer.
I could build anything I wanted.
I'll build a flying machine, I thought,
and I started building.
I worked all day.

What follows is a dreamy evening in which the boy imagines all the incredible things he will do and journeys he will take once his machine is up and flying. Imaginative and funny, as in many of Mercer's book the boy has sidekicks (a cardinal and a dog) that share the action with him. Mayer... oh man, I love this guy, partly because he was one of my favorite childhood authors and partly because even though his illustrations are vaguely retro, they are sharp and modern enough to have been scribbled yesterday. I really and truly can't get enough of his stuff. Good thing the boy adores him... but what child (be it HE or SHE) never imagined building some kind of machine they could use to fulfill there wildest dreams? I dare ya to name one.

Also by:
Beauty and the Beast
Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp
Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-A-Zoo
One Monster After Another
A Special Trick
Oops
Little Monster at Work
One Frog Too Many
How the Trollusk Got His Hat
Bubble Bubble