Review Detail

How to Eat an Airplane

Kids Fiction 311

Goofy "how to" book

March 26, 2016 (Updated: June 28, 2026)

Overall rating

4.5

Plot

4.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Children host a party where they both ride on and eat a jet while brushing up on their party etiquette and table manners. Inspired by a person who managed to eat an entire small plane during the course of two years, this book offers a wing-in-cheek look at how one might go about replicating this process. Of course, when setting the table for a eating a jet, forklifts are more important than forks, although goblets are perfect for jet fuel. Interspersed between tidbits of information about planes (the breaks take 45 minutes to cook down) are tips on being a polite party guest. (Tell jokes, make late guests comfortable.) The end of the book lists a lot of interesting facts about airplanes.

Good Points

The pictures in this book are fresh and colorful, and very detailed, with some cut-and-paste effect on some of the equipment. The final panel, where the children are having an ice cream truck for dessert, shows the truck disassembled and children in a variety of bright clothing consuming various portions of the equipment.

This was reminiscent of a favorite from my children's past-- Betsy Everitt's 1994 TV Dinner, where "Daisy Lee ate the t.v.", and also put me in mind of Marjorie Priceman's How to Make an Apple Pie and see the World, from the same year. While children will hopefully know NOT to actually eat an airplane, there is a disclaimer about how difficult it would be. Children love goofy books, and I'm curious to see what other "bad ideas" are offered up for this book club! I think that "How to Fold the Sun" could be very interesting!