Winsley Walker and Other Flying Objects - Nancy Craddock

                Winsley Walker and Other Flying Objects is an entertaining little book perfect for tween readers looking for a humorous and adventurous story. Unlike so many of today’s books for young people, there aren’t any sparkly vampires or wonky witches. This is just a good old fashioned story about a young girl and her family who live in a small town, growing up in a time before the digital age had taken over. The main storyline is about worry wart Winsley’s fears of her beloved grandfather’s idea to build a plane. Knowing that this surely won’t end well, Winsley does everything in her power to prevent him from achieving his dream and keeps a notebook of “worries”, perfectly illustrated throughout the book. She even goes as far as claiming her grandfather has died when a delivery man delivers some parts for the plane. The problem is that in a small town, everyone knows everyone else’s business, including who has died. I loved this book and even read a chapter to a friend’s child who giggled in all of the right places. The only thing I would add to the book are some illustrations to help a child with the transition from picture book to chapter book. I read this on my laptop and it formatted perfectly including the “worry” journal. The cover is colorful and enticing. This is a great book to encourage young children to pick up a book and read.