Flight School

Title:  Flight School
Author:  Lita Judge

Illustrator:  Lita Judge
Publisher:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers
© 2014
ISBN:  978-1-4424-8177-0
Grade Level: PreK-2
Book Review:  Penguin believes "he was hatched to fly," but despite his enthusiastic participation in flight school his initial attempt lands him swimming in the depths of the ocean.  Committed teachers find a way to let him experience his dream.  They instill such confidence that he brings his friend the ostrich for a chance at experiencing flight. Flight School is a charming text with a positive message that will bring a smile to both children and adults.
Systems Thinking Connections
Habits:  While Penguin may believe that he was hatched to fly, he was not built to fly.  By carefully considering the issue, including Penguin's deep disappointment, the flight school teachers create a structure that allows Penguin to fulfill his dream.  A straightforward lesson for young children on how changing not only your perspective, but also a system's structure can produce a very different result. Systems thinkers recognize that a system's structure generates its behavior.
Tools:  The story is straightforward, and yet it offers an opportunity for students to ask some simple questions connected to the ladder of inference. For example, what was Penguin paying attention to that led him to believe he could fly?  How did his experience (action) reinforce his belief that ostrich too could experience flight?  How were the teachers able to change their approach in order to make Penguin successful.

When the Wind Blows

Title:  When the Wind Blows

Author:  Linda Booth Sweeney
Illustrator:  Jana Christy
Publisher:  G.P. Putnam's Sons ©2015
ISBN:  978-0-399-16015-8
Grade Level:  PreK-2
Book Review:  What happens when the wind blows?  In this story when the wind blows, something magical happens.  Through a series of exquisitely articulated two-word sentences readers experience wind beginning with a gentle breeze, escalating into a full blown thunder storm and then laying as evening comes. Beautiful in its simplicity the book illustrates the effect of wind and it challenges the reader to examine his feelings about this often maligned element of weather.  The story offers a wonderful opportunity for readers to experience descriptive writing, not through flowery modifiers, but rather a series of carefully chosen sensory images.  When the Wind Blows is a masterful combination of elegance and simplicity, power and whimsy--not unlike the wind.
Systems Thinking Connections:

Habits:  Recognizes that a systems structure generates its behavior. Each phrase in the story illustrates the effect of wind on a different part of the system.  Paired with this Habit of a Systems Thinker card (left), teachers and students can create a wealth of connections with this habit.  
Considers how mental models affect current reality and the future.  Beliefs and attitudes affect our perspectives.  Wind is often labeled as an unpopular weather element.  The characters in this story have a very different view, embracing the change in weather and making the very best of the blustery conditions.  Their response to a windy day would be a great conversation starter connected to the reader's thoughts and feelings about the wind.
Tools:  The book illustrates with profound simplicity the dynamic intensity of the wind.  Even very young children could use a behavior over time graph to show the change in the wind.  Great vocabulary could be developed when building the y-axis:  breezy, gusty, blustery, and squally to name a few.

Bonus a parents guide is available for this book can be accessed at http://www.lindaboothsweeney.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/When-The-Wind-Blows-Guide.pdf