Children’s book, Thach and the Blues, aims to inspire and support STEM programs at the National Naval Aviation Museum
By Sandra Averhart
April 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM CDT
Imagine being a child and seeing the Navy’s premier flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, performing for the first time. That’s the premise of Thach and the Blues, the first children’s book released by the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation.
The book aims to inspire youth interest in STEM subjects and make their Blue Angels experience one to remember.
It was written by Dianna Hayden, who serves as Education Director for the museum foundation.
When asked if she could write a children’s book for the museum’s Flight Deck Store, Hayden jumped at the chance.
Dianna Hayden (200x200, AR: 1.0)
“I love children’s literature, and there are so many wonderful stories we can tell about navy aviation,” Hayden declared.
And since everyone loves the Blue Angels and their practices can be viewed on the flight line behind the National Naval Aviation Museum on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, she said it made sense to start there.
“It was an easy way to walk people through what a child experiences at a Blue Angels practice and air show,” she said.
As a teacher for 20 years, Hayden wanted to ensure there were educational and historical components to the book, so the main character, a duck named Thach, was named for real-life naval aviator John “Jimmie” Thach, who went by Jimmie.
“He was a Naval Academy graduate,” she began to explain why Thach was selected. “He trained right here at NAS Pensacola, and this is where he earned his wings of gold. Later, he became a World War II naval aviator. He also, by the way, came back to NAS Pensacola, and he became the director of Naval Air Training back then. So, he had ties to Pensacola.”
According to Hayden, he developed an aerial combat tactic known as the Thach Weave to counter enemy fighters of superior performance. And, he later came back to NAS Pensacola as the director of Naval Air Training.
“Maybe in the future, we’ll be able to see Thach 'weave' his way through history in some future projects,” added Hayden, alluding to the possibility of more books featuring the adventures of Thach Duck.
But in this book, Thach is attending his first Blue Angels practice with his grandparents, Lolli and Pop Pop.
Hayden shared an excerpt:
In a Diamond Formation, the Blues took angelic flight, separated by 18 inches of air and dare and might. They climbed, climbed, climbed higher up than Thach could see, smoke on and all together moving gracefully.
Another excerpt honors one of the most exciting maneuvers in the air show, the Sneak Pass:
The Diamond did a Dirty Roll, a Double Farvel, a Dirty Loop; at each and every turn, the crowd let out a whoop. Suddenly, the Number 5 came screaming low and fast, and then sneaking up from behind, the Number 6 roared past.<br/><br/><br/>‘That was scary, Lolli and Pop Pop,’ the little duck quacked. Lolli and Pop Pop just chuckled and patted him on the back.
“The special thing about this, not only does tell a great children’s story about Thach and naval aviation, the history of NAS Pensacola and the Blue Angels, but all the proceeds from this book go back to the museum,” said retired Admiral Kyle Cozad, President and CEO of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation.
His own book, “Relentless Positivity,” which chronicles his experience and recovery from a serious spinal cord injury, was the first book with all proceeds going to the museum.
In addition to inspiring children to learn about naval aviation and spark their interest in science and engineering, profits from "Thach and the Blues," will help to support educational programs at the museum that offer direct STEM experiences.
“The first one is DOD Star Base, which is a fifth-grade program we host here at our National Flight Academy. This year, we saw over 1,800 students, who come at no cost to their school or their parents,” Cozad said of the program, which is funded entirely through the foundation and the Department of Defense. Of the 20 schools served this year, 17 of those were Title 1.
Profits from "Thach and the Blues" will help to support educational programs at the museum that offer direct STEM experiences. (593x395, AR: 1.5012658227848101)
“That’s an opportunity to take these young fifth-graders, bring them into a hands-on, minds-on learning environment here at the National Flight Academy in a pretty spectacular classroom setting that is like no others.”
Another education program that’s fully supported by the museum foundation is the Flight Adventure Deck, which provides a single-day field trip for students in sixth through eighth grade and has supported over 120,000 kids since its inception in 1996.
“So, again, another hands-on opportunity for kids to come here and learn about STEM, learn about aviation, and kind of get inspired by technical fields that they might not otherwise think about.”
Additional programs offered include Girls in Aviation Gulf Coast, Scout Saturday Aviation Merit Badge classes, and Homeschool Academy.
Although the museum has lost some grant funding due to cuts by the Trump Administration, it receives the bulk of its funding from the Department of Defense, ticket and merchandise revenue, and private donations to the museum foundation.
Money from "Thach and the Blues" will help, too. But Admiral Cozad says the main objective of the book is to inspire kids of all ages.
“You know, our goal, as my grandson told me for the very first time he came here, he walked away and said, ‘Papa, this was my best day ever,’” Cozad proclaimed.
The book was a team effort, with art direction by Humberto Amaro and illustrations by Clara Hansen and Oscar Nava, and, according to Hayden, they’re all looking forward to the joy it will bring to children who read it.
“I’m gonna go down, while the Blue Angels are autographing, just to see if I see anybody with the book to get it autographed,” she said. “I surely hope I do.”
Especially because there’s a spot reserved in the back of the book to collect autographs from the Blue Angels pilots.
Thach and the Blues is available at all major book stores, in the museum store, Flight Deck, and on the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation's website.
The book aims to inspire youth interest in STEM subjects and make their Blue Angels experience one to remember.
It was written by Dianna Hayden, who serves as Education Director for the museum foundation.
When asked if she could write a children’s book for the museum’s Flight Deck Store, Hayden jumped at the chance.
Dianna Hayden (200x200, AR: 1.0)
“I love children’s literature, and there are so many wonderful stories we can tell about navy aviation,” Hayden declared.
And since everyone loves the Blue Angels and their practices can be viewed on the flight line behind the National Naval Aviation Museum on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, she said it made sense to start there.
“It was an easy way to walk people through what a child experiences at a Blue Angels practice and air show,” she said.
As a teacher for 20 years, Hayden wanted to ensure there were educational and historical components to the book, so the main character, a duck named Thach, was named for real-life naval aviator John “Jimmie” Thach, who went by Jimmie.
“He was a Naval Academy graduate,” she began to explain why Thach was selected. “He trained right here at NAS Pensacola, and this is where he earned his wings of gold. Later, he became a World War II naval aviator. He also, by the way, came back to NAS Pensacola, and he became the director of Naval Air Training back then. So, he had ties to Pensacola.”
According to Hayden, he developed an aerial combat tactic known as the Thach Weave to counter enemy fighters of superior performance. And, he later came back to NAS Pensacola as the director of Naval Air Training.
“Maybe in the future, we’ll be able to see Thach 'weave' his way through history in some future projects,” added Hayden, alluding to the possibility of more books featuring the adventures of Thach Duck.
But in this book, Thach is attending his first Blue Angels practice with his grandparents, Lolli and Pop Pop.
Hayden shared an excerpt:
In a Diamond Formation, the Blues took angelic flight, separated by 18 inches of air and dare and might. They climbed, climbed, climbed higher up than Thach could see, smoke on and all together moving gracefully.
Another excerpt honors one of the most exciting maneuvers in the air show, the Sneak Pass:
The Diamond did a Dirty Roll, a Double Farvel, a Dirty Loop; at each and every turn, the crowd let out a whoop. Suddenly, the Number 5 came screaming low and fast, and then sneaking up from behind, the Number 6 roared past.<br/><br/><br/>‘That was scary, Lolli and Pop Pop,’ the little duck quacked. Lolli and Pop Pop just chuckled and patted him on the back.
“The special thing about this, not only does tell a great children’s story about Thach and naval aviation, the history of NAS Pensacola and the Blue Angels, but all the proceeds from this book go back to the museum,” said retired Admiral Kyle Cozad, President and CEO of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation.
His own book, “Relentless Positivity,” which chronicles his experience and recovery from a serious spinal cord injury, was the first book with all proceeds going to the museum.
In addition to inspiring children to learn about naval aviation and spark their interest in science and engineering, profits from "Thach and the Blues," will help to support educational programs at the museum that offer direct STEM experiences.
“The first one is DOD Star Base, which is a fifth-grade program we host here at our National Flight Academy. This year, we saw over 1,800 students, who come at no cost to their school or their parents,” Cozad said of the program, which is funded entirely through the foundation and the Department of Defense. Of the 20 schools served this year, 17 of those were Title 1.
Profits from "Thach and the Blues" will help to support educational programs at the museum that offer direct STEM experiences. (593x395, AR: 1.5012658227848101)
“That’s an opportunity to take these young fifth-graders, bring them into a hands-on, minds-on learning environment here at the National Flight Academy in a pretty spectacular classroom setting that is like no others.”
Another education program that’s fully supported by the museum foundation is the Flight Adventure Deck, which provides a single-day field trip for students in sixth through eighth grade and has supported over 120,000 kids since its inception in 1996.
“So, again, another hands-on opportunity for kids to come here and learn about STEM, learn about aviation, and kind of get inspired by technical fields that they might not otherwise think about.”
Additional programs offered include Girls in Aviation Gulf Coast, Scout Saturday Aviation Merit Badge classes, and Homeschool Academy.
Although the museum has lost some grant funding due to cuts by the Trump Administration, it receives the bulk of its funding from the Department of Defense, ticket and merchandise revenue, and private donations to the museum foundation.
Money from "Thach and the Blues" will help, too. But Admiral Cozad says the main objective of the book is to inspire kids of all ages.
“You know, our goal, as my grandson told me for the very first time he came here, he walked away and said, ‘Papa, this was my best day ever,’” Cozad proclaimed.
The book was a team effort, with art direction by Humberto Amaro and illustrations by Clara Hansen and Oscar Nava, and, according to Hayden, they’re all looking forward to the joy it will bring to children who read it.
“I’m gonna go down, while the Blue Angels are autographing, just to see if I see anybody with the book to get it autographed,” she said. “I surely hope I do.”
Especially because there’s a spot reserved in the back of the book to collect autographs from the Blue Angels pilots.
Thach and the Blues is available at all major book stores, in the museum store, Flight Deck, and on the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation's website.