Stan & Mags

Stan & Mags: Flight to the Past invites young readers to step inside the Fighterworld Museum in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, and solve a mystery hidden among historic aircraft.

Stan, a thoughtful young koala, and Mags, a curious magpie, follow a trail of clues through hangars and exhibits-piecing together details, comparing evidence, and working as a team as the investigation deepens.

Designed for close observation and critical thinking, the story encourages children to follow visual clues, ask questions, and solve puzzles alongside the characters-becoming co-detectives as they read.

With rich, expressive language and a supportive glossary for more complex vocabulary, Stan & Mags strengthens comprehension, inference, and prediction-helping children learn to "read the pictures" as well as the words.

Ideal for home or classroom sharing, it supports literacy and links naturally to History, Geography, and STEM through place-based learning, aviation heritage, problem-solving, spatial thinking, and simple coordinates.

A distinctive touch is its gentle introduction to biomimicry-showing how nature can inspire human design, and helping children spot connections between animals, movement, and flight.

For readers who want to go further, optional website-linked "missions" extend the adventure with hands-on challenges, real-world connections, and creative thinking.

The artwork is soft and painterly, balancing atmosphere with authenticity. Each illustration is layered with museum details to reward careful observation and support the mystery as it unfolds.

This book includes artwork developed with the support of AI-assisted tools. Each illustration was carefully directed and refined to ensure consistency, authenticity, and alignment with the story, with artistic decision-making and attention to detail throughout.

At its heart, Stan & Mags: Flight to the Past is a story of curiosity, persistence, and the joy of discovery-an adventure to share that invites imagination to take flight and encourages readers to explore beyond the page.