Book Review of Yara Takes Flight: An Exploration of the Five Senses (Super You Series™)
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The Children’s Book Review
Yara Takes Flight: An Exploration of the Five Senses (Super You Series™)
Written by Manal El-Ramly
Illustrated by Erica Bortoloso
Ages: 3-7 | 34 Pages
Publisher: Mattain Publishing, LLC (2026) | ISBN: 979-8-9893859-7-3
What to Expect: First airplane flight, the five senses, sensory awareness, curiosity, and mindfulness.
A young girl’s first airplane flight becomes a sensory adventure as she discovers that her five senses are the superpowers that help her navigate something brand-new.
Rather than framing first-flight nerves as something to overcome, this story reframes them as an opportunity. Seated on an airplane that lifts off with a Grrrrrrrrumble, Yara notices everything—from the hum and rumble beneath her, the pressure in her ears, the rush of clouds outside her window, to the tastes and smells in the cabin around her. Yara’s senses become her guide, helping her feel grounded and curious even as the world tilts unfamiliar beneath her. Yara Takes Flight offers a tender way of showing young readers that new experiences can be explored one sense at a time.
Warm and sensory, Manal El-Ramly’s writing grounds an abstract idea like “awareness” in the very concrete, physical details of a first flight—the pop of ears, the vibration of engines, the view from above—providing children with a way to recognize and relate to their own experiences. The prose reads aloud easily, with a rhythm that invites caregivers to slow down and notice alongside Yara, making the book feel like a shared sensory experience rather than a passive one.
An anime-inspired character style with a looser, sketch-like quality feels soft and approachable through illustrator Erica Bortoloso’s palette of blues, oranges, and greens that mirrors the journey from ground to sky—each spread is a gentle visual that invites lingering.
Altogether, this is a lovely pick for parents and caregivers preparing a child for their first flight or simply looking to introduce mindfulness and sensory awareness through a relatable new experience. Yara Takes Flight is a perfect fit for read-aloud time with the 3-7 crowd, where its message of your senses are your superpowers is sure to take off.
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About the Author
Manal El-Ramly is the creator of the Yara Universe™ and The Super You Series™, a collection of children’s picture books that invite young readers to slow down, experience the world with wonder, and trust their own inner knowing. Through imaginative storytelling and everyday adventures, her stories help children remember the superpowers they were born with: presence, curiosity, self-worth, and inner knowing.
A TEDx speaker, Insight Timer teacher, and author of Transcending Anxiety: From Fear to Freedom, Manal is known for making profound ideas simple, relatable, and practical for everyday life. With The Super You Series™, she brings that philosophy to children—creating stories that nurture presence, self-trust, and emotional confidence from an early age. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her family.
For more information, visit www.mattain.me/superyouseries.
About the Illustrator
Erica Bortoloso is an Italian children’s book illustrator and character designer whose expressive watercolor illustrations capture the wonder, imagination, and heart of the Yara Universe™.
Dedicated Reviews allow authors and illustrators to gain prompt visibility for their work. This is a sponsored*, non-biased review of Yara Takes Flight: An Exploration of the Five Senses (Super You Series™). Learn more about getting a book review …
