A Plumfield Kids Book Review by Felicity, age 16

I am a reader who loves many different books. However, I don’t tend toward a certain genre, and my favorite books lie in many different realms. The Avion My Uncle Flew by Cyrus Fisher combines some of my favorite things—France, World War II, adventure, an uncle who always listens to you—with one of my not so favorite things to read about—planes. 

Actually, now that I think about it, I loved the Childhood of Famous Americans: Wilbur and Orville Wright as a seven to twelve-year-old, but I am not sure if that was because of the first flight or the hilarious escapades young Wilbur and Orville got into.  

The Avion My Uncle Flew begins with the main character, Johnny Littlehorn, breaking his leg. A month or so later, his father finally gets home from the war. It turns out the entire family is going to France, because his father has some of his military intelligence job to finish.  

A stay in Paris reveals some sinister men bent on buying Mrs. Littlehorn’s ancestral chateau in the little village of St Chamant. His father gets called away to business in England, and his mother goes along. Johnny will stay with his “oncle” Paul in St Chamant. 

Johnny is still not able to walk on his leg but this delayed recovery is completely mental. Mr. Littlehorn makes a deal—if he can walk two miles when his parents get back, he will be the proud owner of a brand new three-gear bicycle! 

This leads me to a favorite part in this story. His mother promises Johnny an “electric lighting dynamo” for his bicycle if, by the end of his time in St Chamant, he can write her an entire letter in French! Ergo, Johnny, in typical twelve-year-old fashion, begins to mix French with his narrative. 

“For about ten minutes I was so stunned I didn’t do a thing. This was what came of having mon oncle and me montent sur la montagne” (pg. 111). At the end there is a copy of what Johnny—or should I say Jean—wrote to his mother. As the reader I was quite surprised and pleased to be able to read it, and at least get the general meaning behind it. 

Then follows Nazi plots, new friends, language mixups, and last but not least, l’avion, built by oncle Paul, which is a central part of the story. Even if, like me, you’re not a plane enthusiast, you will become personally invested into this avion. 

This was an engaging and entertaining read with an added bonus of learning more of the French language than I ever have before!

Sara has reviewed this book as well, here.