The Good Night Airport

As the sun sets on an airport, maintenance and support crews wake up and get to work. With echoes of Richard Scarry, a variety of animals cheerfully operate the lavatory truck, the tow tractor, the runway cleaner, and other vehicles that keep the planes running smoothly. Rhyming couplets add to the upbeat feel of the text, though at times the rhythm feels a bit stilted when vocabulary terms such as tarmac, asphalt, and stabilizers join in the phrasing. Colorful images helpfully support a basic understanding of how each vehicle operates. Airport enthusiasts will note that these vehicles are not really specific to nighttime-fuel trucks, catering trucks, and belt loaders operate all day for nearly every flight-but the acknowledgment that multiple shifts of hard work are needed to keep a major airport running is perhaps reason enough for the overnight setting. A perky read-aloud option for young vehicle fans and their grown-ups who are ready for something besides the usual garbage trucks and excavators. – Elisha Brookover * Booklist *

Tori Kosara is a children’s book author and editor from New York. She has written more than 40 books for a variety of age ranges, covering a range of topics across fiction and non-fiction. Tori earned a master’s degree in Children’s Literature from Roehampton University, and she now lives in East London, England with her husband, two vehicle-obsessed sons, and a story-time-loving Labrador named Biscuit.

Natalia Castro is an illustrator from Bogotá, Colombia. She studied visual arts at the Javeriana University in Bogotá and since then has worked as a freelance artist in various visual fields such as illustrated books, magazines and social projects in Colombia. She enjoys experimenting with different mediums and formats to tell her stories. The inspiration for her work comes from her surroundings, the streets of Bogotá, the colours and the nature of Colombia and Latin America. When she’s not in her studio, she likes to enjoy long walks with her sketchbook and collect stories from her neighbours.