A Big Day for Bike
by Emily Jenkins; illus. by G. Brian Karas
Preschool, Primary    Ottaviano/Little, Brown    32 pp.
6/24    9780316340175    $18.99

On her first day as a rental bicycle for Beep Beep Bicycles, Bike worries she might not be able to live up to riders’ expectations. An older, more seasoned bike advises, “You’ll be okay…Really, you will.” A page-turn gives some basic information on how the rentals work: e.g., “When you’re done, you leave it on another rack, somewhere else in the city.” Bike takes a variety of people on six rides through Seattle (evident from the Space Needle and other landmarks). Some riders are chatty, one is in a hurry, a few are going to or coming from work, another is a tourist. Bike rides into neighborhoods, past parks, to the aquarium, and more. We feel the exhilaration as she zips along—“Zoom! Bike loves going downhill”—and also the hardships. Going up a steep hill, an older rider “gets off Bike and pushes her to the top…It’s so embarrassing to be pushed.” Karas, using pencil on paper warmly colored in Adobe Photoshop, creates cityscapes that are beautifully detailed and full of activity. Bike is drawn as a cartoon character, at once endearing and comical. Jenkins’s lively, engaging text presents a heartfelt story, gives an informative tour of Seattle, and provides excellent reasons for city bike rentals. An afterword offers bike safety tips.

From the May/June 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.