January 29, 2012
One of Seymour Simon’s first books, THE PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK, is still one of his most popular, with kids AND adults. A few years ago, when we were designing his website, we came up with the idea of making a paper airplane pattern - a piece of paper with folding instructions - for readers to download. "Let me take a picture of you dressed up like an aviator, flying a paper airplane," I said to Seymour. "We can put the photograph on the pattern so that when kids fold it, your photo will be on the wings. It will be a Seymour Plane!"
You have seen the drawing of Snoopy when he’s pretending to pilot a fighter plane, right? I thought that was exactly the right look for the Seymour Plane! I dug through my drawers and pulled out a white silk scarf, and found a pair of swimming goggles on the shelf in the garage. Seymour, always willing to be silly for the sake of science, put it all on, folded his airplane and we snapped this photograph.
When Seymour visits schools, like he did this week, he always talks about paper airplanes and shows kids his silly photo.
After his visit to the elementary school in Center Moriches, NY, we received this letter from a mother named Christine Buff. Christine wrote:
My twin sons, Spencer and Stephen, LOVED your visit. Thank you for making such an amazing impression on two 5-year-old boys. They are in Mrs. Engelhardt’s Kindergarten class. Spencer came home telling us all about your paper airplane book and that we could go onto your dot.com and visit you on FACEBOOK! We made our airplanes last night. We have airplanes flying all over my house and Spencer wanted me to write you to tell you his did a loop-de-loop! He also wanted to know why we did not have your train book!! They are BIG train fans. Off to borrow from the library!
Today was Biography Day and they both wore scarfs, googles and brought their airplanes to school to pretend they were you.Don’t they look just like Seymour?! That is Stephen on the left and Spencer on the right. How great to see them with their paper airplanes, scarves and goggles! We now declare Spencer and Stephen official members of the Paper Airplane Club!
If you’d like to try folding your own "Seymour Plane," with his silly photograph on the wings, you can download the pattern here. Send us your picture with your paper airplane, dressed up like Seymour, and you’ll be in the Paper Airplane Club, too!
Students also often ask where they can see the YouTube video that Seymour loves, of a paper airplane being flown from a skyscraper and traveling down through New York City. You can see that video by clicking here.
Posted by: Liz Nealon
