Cromwell Dixon's Sky-Cycle by John Abbott Nez

Cromwell Dixon's Sky-Cycle by John Abbott Nez
Buy Cromwell Dixon's Sky-Cycle by John Abbott Nez at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: John Lloyd
Summary: A charmingly illustrated tale of a real life pioneer in American flight.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: May 2009
Publisher: Putnam
ISBN: 978-0399250415
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Meet Cromwell Dixon. He's a real tinkerer, forever in a barn or somewhere building something manically unusual. Luckily - although his long-suffering mother may disagree with that word - he's around at the birth of powered flight. Will his plans for a pedalled air machine work?

Well as this is a true story, the answer is slightly obvious. He really seems to have been a young genius - a rollercoaster and a motorbike under his belt way before he was of what is now school-leaving age. But as he appears here - a slightly young fourteen year old - he is an airman of Edwardian style, great willpower, and more than a little pluck.

This volume is finely balanced between the picture book and the young reader. There are several multi-syllable words, but nothing too strenuous. The greatest effort seems to have been spent on the illustrations, which are superb - lovely, rich detail, with every large spread peppered with animals (Cromwell's pet dog, perhaps unwisely braving his master's experiments, the haughty cockerel at the landing site), charming people and a bright warmth.

It's a simple story told very nicely, with no real attempt to force the moral - fortune favours the brave, to some extent - down anyone's throats. It won't be particularly inspirational as a result, but will open young reader's eyes to antique airmachines and the pioneering spirit. Luckily it stops before the real Cromwell died in a air crash when he was only nineteen.

That's certainly what we don't want in picture books of this sort. What we do want is what we get - great artistry in the pictures, a simple linear tale, and for once, a forgotten hero resurrected for a brief while as a great hero for our young friends and families.

I must thank the publishers for my review copy.

If your child has learnt to love planes, they will get a lot from Take a Flight by Peter Kent. But adults, don't despair - there is a flying pioneer in picture form for you, too - it's Trial and Error: The Aviated Efforts of Jean Babtiste de Bomberaque by Oivind Hovland.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Cromwell Dixon's Sky-Cycle by John Abbott Nez at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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