Let's Fly - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

It's always fun to find engaging and inspirational picture books. This week's #PPBF choice is an autobiography co-created by an amazing pilot and teacher and the talented author Chana Stiefel. It highlights Barrington Irving's struggles, hard work, and persistence in pursuing his goal of doing something big and inspiring which leads to chasing a world-record and creating a STEM aviation program for kids.

Book Cover - man in the cockpit of a plane soaring through the clouds.

Let's Fly! Barrington Irving's Record-Breaking Flight Around the World

Author: Barrington Irving and Chana Stiefel

Illustrator: Shamar Knight-Justice

Publisher: Dial Books/Penguin Random House (2025)

Ages: 3-7

Nonfiction

Themes:

Airplanes, science, biography, diversity, and persistence.

Synopsis:

The true story of Barrington Irving, who broke records as the youngest person and first Black man to fly solo around the world—co-authored by Barrington and award-winning author Chana Stiefel, with art by New York Times bestselling illustrator Shamar Knight-Justice

As a kid, Barrington Irving moved from Jamaica to Miami and played football—his ticket to success, he thought. But then Captain Gary Robinson swooped into his life. Barrington had never seen a Black pilot before. Captain Robinson showed Barrington a jet, a cockpit, and what it was like to actually fly a plane—

WHOAAA!

After that, Barrington had big plans, and two words:

Let's Fly!

Barrington Irving worked hard to become a pilot, and even harder to inspire other people to think big too. How big? A flight around the WORLD big. Climb aboard for the true story of how Barrington Irving went from tinkering kid to towering pilot and flew solo around the world—breaking records as the youngest person and first Black man ever to do it. With maps, labels, lists, and cool backmatter, including news of what Barring Irving is doing today, this book soars.

Buckle up! Sky-high dreams ahead.

Opening Lines:

I’m a dream chaser. A solo flier. A world-record breaker. I’m Barrington Irving.

People said I’d never make my dreams come true. But I powered through!

Want to know how? Buckle up!

Flight controls . . . check. Fuel . . . check. Electrical power on.

Cockpit door locked. Start the engine.

Ground control, ready for takeoff—

Let's Fly!

What I LOVED about this book:

Barrington Irving and Chana Stiefel have created a wonderful, succinct, and engaging autobiographical picture book. Told in a first-person narrative, the book begins with an intriguing invitation by the adult Irving inviting the reader to learn how he made his dreams come true.

Internal spread - man standing on the right ina flight suit, with airplane behind him ready for flight.

Text © Chana Stiefel and Barrington Irving, 2025.

Image © Shamar Knight-Justice, 2025.

As Irving swoops through the pages in his plane, accompanied by fun onomatopoeia, he shares how his early years in Jamaica, learning to work on cars, and his move to Miami at the age of 6, where he was badgered about his accent and clothes, made him promise himself, "“I’m going to SOAR!"

Internal spread - young boy on the lower left looking toward the upper right, as a plane and it's vapor trail zoom off to the upper right.

One fortuitous day, Captain Gary Robinson (a black pilot) "swooped into his life" and took Irving under his wing. Introducing him to his jet plane and the wonders of flying. I love Shamar Knight-Justice's colorful illustrations and especially the detailed and labeled image of the cockpit. So cool for those who've only peeked into a cockpit before.

Internal spread - a young boy sitting in the co-pilot seat stares in awe at the cockpit controls.

Working hard, studying hard, and lots of practice rewarded Irving with his pilot license and a scholarship to college. When Captain Gary Robinson challenged Irvington to "pay it forward," he started an after-school STEM program to teach kids about aviation and started dreaming about doing something to inspire kids, something big. He decided, "I'd fly around the WORLD—by myself." Just one problem, he didn't have a plane. After trying to find a sponsor or support for two years, then planning the trip for a year, at the age of twenty-three, he finally taxied out of Miami.

A great cut-away image shows the pieces and parts as Inspiration (his plane) was constructed. And Shamar Knight-Justice created an amazing world map with the route marked, city stops numbered, and spot illustrations of major landmarks and weather events. You have to read the book to discover the rest of his challenges and see if he succeeds. Fascinating information on years of flight records, "fab information," and a fun timeline provide additional information about Barrington Irving and his aviation STEM programs for kids.

It's a picture book, and life, full of challenges, setbacks, and successes. Which wonderfully embodies one of Irvington's sayings, “The only person who can stop you from doing something great is you.” A terrific nonfiction book for anyone struggling to accomplish their own dream and anyone who loves planes and adventures.

Resources:

make your own model cardboard, popsicle stick, Styrofoam, or paper tube planes.
try out some of these 14 origami planes, ranging from easy to hard.
maybe even make a carboard plane (or two) for yourself.
what is your dream? What do you need to do to get there? Where can you look for others who can help you? Remember Barrington Irving said, “Just take the first step. Whether you trip or stumble, you’re still moving forward.”

If you missed my interview with Chana Stiefel on Monday, find it (here).

This post is part of a series of blog posts by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions and resources see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.