AIR MILES

The small dog who learned to drive a car in Motor Miles (2016) takes to the skies.

Left barely begun at his death, Burningham’s second tribute to a beloved Jack Russell terrier is expanded from notes and sketches (the latter smoothly interspersed with Oxenbury’s more finished but equally spare and softly textured watercolors) into a poignant remembrance of the author. Looking for a way to cheer up his aging, droopy canine companion, young Norman Trudge again turns to local handyman Mr. Huddy—who, this time, wheels out an airplane just the right size for a small pilot with paws. Off goes Miles, soaring over fields and towns, by day and night, into and out of clouds. But a day comes at last when Norman helps him into the cockpit one last time and watches as he flies up into the misty sky and away. The narrative, also spare and freighted with feeling, ends with a tender farewell: “Goodbye, Miles.” Norman, his mother, and Mr. Huddy are all light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Goodbye, Mr. Burningham. Thank you for one last grand and memorable flight.