Alis the Aviator
Alis the Aviator | by Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail | illustrated by Kalpna Patel
This spunky female guide will take you through an ABC of planes featuring gorgeous cut-paper art. An A to Z of planes past and present, this book has stunning cut-paper art and a cute-as-a-button guide named Alis. Named for Dr. Alis B. Kennedy, likely one of the first Indigenous women to obtain a commercial pilot licence with land and sea ratings in Canada, Alis will take you on an aviation tour from the Avro Arrow to the Zeppelin and everything in between.
Ideal for:
National STEAM Day November 8
Louis Riel Day and Métis Heritage Day November 16
International Aviation Day/ Day of the Girl December 17
International Day of Women and Girls in Science February 11
Aboriginal Awareness Week May
National Indigenous History Month June.
Alis the Aviator. Text © 2019 Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail Illustrations © 2021 Kalpna Patel. Reproduced by permission of Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers, a Penguin Random House Company, Toronto.
Alis the Aviator is an alphabet book which uses simple text and gorgeous cut-paper illustrations to introduce a variety of aircraft and moments from aviation history. The main character is named for Dr. Alis Kennedy, likely the first indigenous woman in Canada to earn both a private and commercial pilot’s license.
Because this book has no particular plot or storyline, it may not seem obvious how it could connect with the bible, or theology, or life in Christian community. In this it is similar to certain passages of scripture, whose purpose is not immediately apparent, and which we might be tempted to skip over. These include things like long genealogies, or the lengthy greetings Paul often includes in his letters, naming people about whom we know very little.
But when we look closer at these passages, we discover they are not just lists—they are collections of stories! Every name in a family tree, every person mentioned in a letter, is someone with a story.
Similarly, what sounds like a list of planes, or people, or events, is much more. Behind every aircraft mentioned in Alis the Aviator there are stories: who invented it, developed it, flew it, when, where and for what purpose? Behind the simplicity of the text there are wars, accidents, close calls, discoveries, and adventures. One such astonishing moment is when an ultralight was used to teach geese to migrate from Ontario to Virginia!
So a book like Alis the Aviator can actually change the way we see the world. It can help us pay attention to hidden stories—the stories that lie behind and beneath the surface of what we see and hear. This book also reminds us of the many achievements of Indigenous people, whose stories have not been told.
Biblical Themes: stories and storytelling, stories beneath the surface, adventure and discovery
Making Connections:
More Than a Name: Choose one of the aircraft in the glossary and find out more about it. See if you can find an interesting story connected with it. Tell the story to someone else.
Air Show: Provide different patterns and weights of paper and have a paper-airplane party. Provide designs of different difficulty level, and helpers to assist younger children. Without turning it into a competition, celebrate the planes for distance, fancy flying, steady landings, and creative decoration!
Paper Portraits: Using Kalpna Patel’s paper cut illustrations as inspiration, create a paper portrait of your family, or people in your community. Include details about their hobbies, interests, work, or other things they love to do. Glue all the portraits onto a big piece of Bristol board or butcher paper to make a community collage
Congregation A to Z: Walk around your church and think about the people who gather there throughout the week. Brainstorm your own A to Z poem about your church. Can you come up with a per son, place, object, activity, or event for every letter of the alphabet?
