This Is Daniel Cook on a Plane.

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

If you have ever watched Treehouse TV, you have probably seen the This Is Daniel Cook television show that follows the exploits of a ginger-haired six-year-old boy named Daniel. These six books are part of a series that is based on the original television program.

In the construction book, Daniel dons work boots and a construction hat and tours a work site where a new sidewalk is being built. Under the supervision of an adult, he’s allowed to try the controls of a backhoe and watch as a huge cement mixer pours concrete into a sidewalk form.

When Daniel visits a farm, he learns about its animals (sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, donkeys, horses, cats, and dogs). Next, Daniel visits a fire station where Sean, a firefighter, tells him about firefighters’ clothing, fire trucks (past and present), and Dalmatians, the firefighters’ dog. On a tour of a honey farm, Daniel meets the beekeeper, dons a bee suit, and learns how bees live and how to collect honey.

When Daniel goes on a hike, his guide Amy, a naturalist, educates him about how and where insects make their nests. Included in the story is a checklist of what equipment a hiker should take on a hike. In This is Daniel Cook on a Plane, the youngster takes to the air after learning about the parts of an airplane, the Wright brothers, and some flying basics.

Each book is packed with colour photos showing Daniel interacting with people and objects as he explores his subject. There is both an official text that explains what is going on and the occasional sidebar where Daniel mugs into the camera and says something cute. A fun arts-and-crafts project related to the subject is included at the back of each book. Like the TV series, these books entertain pre-schoolers while teaching them about the world they live in. Highly recommended.