Common Sense Media Review
By Stephanie Morgan
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Encouraging tale teaches kids what to expect when flying.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 2+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
BEARPLANE!, a picture book by New York Times bestselling author Deborah Underwood and critically acclaimed artist Sam Wedelich, follows a bear cub and a mama bear as they make their way through the busy airport for the cub's first plane ride. Their destination? A bear-y special family reunion with grandma!
Is It Any Good?
The perfect pick for first-time fliers, this sweet picture book will prepare young kids for anything they might encounter in the airport or on an airplane. Bearplane! uses melodic rhyming verses and charming illustrations to convey a comforting sense of excitement about air travel. Parents will especially appreciate the level of detail used to explain what children might experience during each step of the journey, from the security line and sometimes-overwhelmingly loud terminal to the sensation of your ears popping during a flight.
The tone is consistently encouraging as the bears face every obstacle, including a delay and a grumpy fellow passenger, with patience and a sense of adventure -- making this an essential addition to the library of any young child who's new to the skies.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Bearplane! can help readers know what to expect before an airplane trip. Ask children who haven't flown before whether anything in the book surprised them. Did anything look especially fun or maybe a little scary?
Talk about how books can be used to prepare for new experiences. What other topics would the kids in your life be interested in learning about through books?
Bearplane! has a labeled map of the airport at the beginning of the book. Do you like books with labels or special sections that help you learn more?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Sam Wedelich
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Adventures
- Character Strengths : Curiosity
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Dial Books
- Publication date : May 31, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 2 - 5
- Number of pages : 32
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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