(EDITOR’S NOTE: When I received this press release, I had to share it with readers of BAHAMAS CHRONICLE. “Lenox Takes Flight” is geared toward children 9 – 11, and I strongly recommend that Minister of Education, Technical and Vocational Training Glenys Hanna-Martin consider including it as a “teaching tool” for that age group in Bahamian schools.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — When ‘Iolani Lightbourne Bullock prepared to travel to Thailand with her son Lenox, she couldn’t find many books about travel for children and certainly none with characters of color. Since she couldn’t find the perfect book to read with her son, she decided to create it herself.
“Lenox Takes Flight” centers around Lenox, an imaginative kid who loves airplanes and who dreams of the day he will get to board one. In preparing for the family trip overseas, he learns that his great-grandfather was a Tuskegee Airman who earned pilot wings.
He cannot wait to board his first flight and get a pair of his own, until his excitement causes him to lose his passport in the airport. He and his little sister Teagan set out on an adventure to find it before their flight takes off.
The chapter book is geared toward children 9 – 11 years old and was recently published by New Degree Press. It has enjoyed positive reviews from parents, educators and children alike.
Popular family travel blogger Tykesha S. Burton of MommaWanderlust.com commented, “Lenox’s excitement and wonder leaps off the page…’Iolani L. Bullock shares the world of travel through the eyes of a curious, intelligent young man who is on the cusp of a grand life-altering journey.”
’Iolani hopes that Black and brown children will be inspired by seeing themselves in Lenox and that all children understand that our differences are what make us special. Ultimately, she wants to get Lenox Takes Flight into classrooms and has created an educator guide to facilitate the discussion of themes that arise from the book such as exploring other cultures through travel, the history of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, and overcoming your fears to achieve your goals.
Lenox Takes Flight is available on Amazon and where books are sold online. You can view the book trailer and learn more at www.lenoxtakesflight.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE: ‘Iolani L. Bullock is the daughter of my very good friend Henry Lightbourne, who back in the 1980s was the Ministry of Tourism’s representative in the Philadelphia area and we spent a lot of time hanging out together whenever I visited Philadelphia to see my boyhood friend the late Oswald (Big O) Fowler. She received her bachelor of arts from New York University and her MBA from Georgetown University in D.C.
Learn more about “Lenox Takes Flight”at lenoxtakesflight.com and @lenoxtakesflight on Instagram.
