How do you explain air travel to a toddler? For us, the answer was books. We discovered the power of preparing our oldest son for this new experience by reading airplane-themed books from the local library. These stories helped him approach travel day with curiosity rather than fear. I share more about our experience in this post: How We Became a Family that Reads Together. Here are books about airplane travel for toddlers that can make it a breeze.
The Airport Book
By Lisa Brown
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Follow a family on their travel journey and witness what they encounter at the airport and on the airplane. I thought this picture book might be advanced for my 20 month old, but we gave it a chance and I’m so glad we did! The illustrations are simply beautiful and my son would giggle whenever we found the sock monkey on every page.
Richard Scarry’s Busy Busy Airport
By Richard Scarry
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Follow adorable animal characters through a busy airport in this wonderfully detailed book with silly, humorous scenes. There’s so much to discover in these whimsical illustrations that label objects like vehicles and people you’d find at the airport. We especially love looking for Goldbug (a tiny golden bug character) hidden on every spread.
Maisy goes on a Plane
By Lucy Cousins
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Maisy is a mouse who travels by plane to visit a friend. The bold illustrations and vibrant colors are captivating. Every time my son saw the turtle waiting to board the plane, he would point at it and burst out laughing. This is part of the ‘A Maisy First Experiences Book’ series and the first of many, many Maisy books we’ve read.
Construction Site: Taking Flight
By Sherri Duskey Rinker, Illustrated by AG Ford
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The original construction truck crew work together to expand the airport. Kids will love to meet some new trucks and planes along the way. Although this book was published after my oldest son’s first airplane ride, he adores this story. This is a must read for fans of the ‘Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site’ series!
Our family will be traveling by airplane again soon. This time, it’ll be an all new experience for my youngest son. We plan on preparing him with the same airplane books we read to our oldest son.
Have any of these books about airplane travel for toddlers helped your family? I’d love to hear about your experiences or other air travel books that worked for your little ones in the comments below.
Happy exploring!