You're viewing a single thread.
They are. What's the problem?
Like honestly, it's a simple present tense sentence, talking about those airplanes right next to it. They are so many kinds!
I guess the problem is that, while technically accurate English, it's a pretty non-standard usage. One sees a page full of a variety of planes and it's expected that the following text will make a general statement on planes as an idea: There are so many kinds of planes!
To refer to a group as the book does, it's just kind of clunky and awkward, and on top of that so many kinds is, in my experience, just an unusual adjective form. Teaching children how to read isn't just about learning how to sound out words: it's also about how to suss out their meaning, and a child at this reading level may have a hard time understanding the more abstract grammatical form that this book decided to take.
I guess there's 2 things. One is people being picky about 'They are' vs. 'There are' and the second is that they've probably not shown a very wide variety
My subconscious autocorrected that the first time I read it. It was only after reading your comment and going back to look again that I realized they had not written "There are".
I see it. "There are" and "they are" are different sentences with slightly different meanings. Writing this way is correct and I think you'll find it's common in older children's books and even adult books. Tolkien wrote often in this way that sounds clunky to the modern ear. I read a lot of older writing so to me it sounds more familiar and correct even.
Who is so many airplanes?
Look in your left hand.