PreS-Gr 2 —Time has passed since Miles the dog learned to drive a car in Motor Miles , and now this beloved dog is not able to walk as fast and doesn't always hear when he is called by his boy Norman or Norman's mother, Alice. When Alice suggests asking their neighbor Mr. Huddy for help finding something exciting for Miles, Mr. Huddy has something far bigger than a car this time—an airplane! Miles gets right in and begins to fly—over lakes and hills and into clouds and under the dark night sky. Soon Miles begins to lose interest in walks and food. When Miles sets off to board his airplane, Norman follows and helps him on, knowing that this is goodbye. Beautiful watercolor and pen illustrations bring Miles and his family to life, depicting Miles's inquisitive expression and warm eyes, while also depicting a tiredness that comes with age. The text is concise in a way that says more than enough with just the right words, spreading a feeling of peacefulness on every page. The love Norman and Alice have for Miles flows through the pages as they try to find a way to fill Miles's life with happiness and excitement, even as they ready themselves to let him fly away. VERDICT A breathtaking story about the love and loss of a beloved dog, highly recommended for all picture book collections.—Selenia Paz

In this companion book to Burningham's Motor Miles (2016), Miles (a dog) lives with a boy named Norman and his mother. Growing old, Miles has lost interest in chasing balls and taking walks. Sometimes he can't hear people calling him. Norman takes him to visit their neighbor, Mr. Huddy, who once made a car for Miles and taught him to drive. Now Mr. Huddy has built a little airplane and teaches him to fly. Fascinated, Miles begins flying often, though it exhausts him. Eventually, he stops. One day, he slowly walks to the plane, waits for Norman to lift him into the cockpit, and flies high into the sky, "higher than ever before." Norman walks home alone. Salaman wrote the clear, concise text based on a story idea that Burningham, who died in 2019, had discussed with him. Oxenbury, Burningham's wife, created the beautiful illustrations in pencil, watercolor, and gouache. Her line drawings sensitively convey the characters' emotions while the spare text leaves room for viewers to interpret events. A moving picture book.

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. (Picture book. 5-7)