If You Like...Bicycles

The weather might be turning too cold to spend much time on your bicycle outside, but you can still read these great books about bicycles!

Birth of the Bicycle

Written by Sarah Nelson

Illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2024. Informational.

This beautifully illustrated nonfiction narrative of the history of the bicycle in the United States will enchant readers as they learn about the innovations that made bikes popular and practical--like brakes, rubber tires, and specially designed clothing for women. Further information about the various iterations of the bicycle concludes the book.

The Running Machine

By Keith Negley

New York: Balzar + Bray, 2024. Picture book.

After a huge volcanic eruption altered the global climate, the summer of 1816 is too cold for a good harvest and farmers in Germany are unable to keep their horses. Karl Drais, a young boy who loves riding, misses the freedom and speed that horses normally give him. He decides to create a human-propelled two-wheeled vehicle. After several failures, Karl succeeds in creating the first predecessor of our bicycle today.

Pedal, Balance, Steer

Written by Vivian Kirkfield

Illustrated by Alison Jay

New York: Calkins Creek, 2024. Biography.

Despite not knowing how to ride a bicycle, Annie Londonderry sets out to win a $10,000 prize for being the first woman to cycle around the globe in fifteen months. This biography details Annie's adventures and the adversities throughout her historic journey.

The Bicycle

Written by Patricia McCormick and Mevan Babakar

Illustrated by Yas Imamura

New York: Balzer + Bray, 2024. Informational.

When Mevan and her family are forced to flee their beloved homeland, they must leave everything behind. As the family is forced to relocate over and over again, Mevan feels smaller and smaller. Finally, after two years. they are welcomed in the Netherlands. Mevan is gifted a bicycle and the act of kindness transforms her life once again.

Comments

Review: Faker

Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit

Review: The Frindle Files

Frindle Files By Andrew Clements New York: Random House, 2024. Fiction. 198 pages. In 1996 Andrew Clements wrote a story about a kid who invented the word “frindle” (another word for “pen.”) The Frindle Files is the sequel that takes place many years later. Josh is a student in Mr. N’s class. He and his friends can’t stand the fact that Mr. N makes them all write their homework down on paper with a “blue or black pen” and “neatness counts.” Josh is a computer geek and loves to do all his homework on the computer. In the midst of trying to find a way to make Mr. N accept the students' desire to do homework online, Josh comes across some information about Mr. N that links him to the word “frindle.” Now Josh and his best friend must decide what to do with the information and if they are willing to stand up to Mr. N’s antiquated way of doing homework. Kids who love the original book will highly enjoy this new edition. It is a continuation to the story in that it shows what ha

Review: Millie Fleur's Poison Garden

Millie Fleur's Poison Garden By Christy Mandin New York: Orchard Books, 2024. Picture Book. The town of Garden Glen is "a picture-perfect place," which means that everything is lovely, perfect, and exactly the same. Except for the the decrepit old house on the edge of town where no one has lived for years. Until Millie Fleur La Fae and her mother move in. Millie loves her new house, but it's missing one thing. Millie Fleur sets to work planting a wicked and wonderfully wild garden filled with plants like "sore toothwart," and "grumpy gillyflower." And though the uptight town elders deride her garden as "poisonous," the other kids in town start to show interest -- which eventually trickles into the other gardens in town. This is a simple and sweet picture book that would be so fun to share with children during spooky season. The illustrations are charming and Tim Burton-esque, with a protagonist who resembles Wednesday Addams, yet the pict

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