Meet Violet the Pilot! This is a new series of short stories for children that take us on Violet's adventures around the globe. Violet the Pilot books are colorful paperbacks with approximately 20 pages of reading, along with vivid illustrations, by Bettina Jenkins Bathe and Barbara Fortin. They are on a 2nd to 3rd grade level.

In this, the first in a series, Violet the Pilot in Canada, Violet takes us along on her adventure, flying over Canada and the Lake of the Woods area. Violet takes her passengers on a wonderful flight aboard her floatplane, to find the perfect fishing spot! It is a very cute story, but also gives lots of subtle educational information on flying, geared toward a younger age level, for easy understanding.

The second in the Violet the Pilot series is, Violet the Pilot in France. Join Violet as she and her friends, Simone and Pierre, fly high above Provence, France in a hot air balloon! Learn along with Violet and her friends just how a hot air balloon flies with no wings or engine. Some of Violet's animal friends help them to get the balloon off the ground as they start their balloon adventure in the skies above France. Violet brings her compass and map along so they can chart their journey. As a storm approaches they must figure out just where to land and meet up with their animal friends. After, they enjoy a picnic and music on Violet's violin at a vineyard in the French countryside. They then bid one another "Au revoir."

The Violet the Pilot series is geared to 3-9 year olds, but are fun little educational stories for any age. Look for more books in this series and you'll be able to answer the question, "Where in the world will Violet's next adventure take her?"

-Product Review by Lisa Barthuly & Family, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, June, 2006