Two Wheels

The small boy narrator of this story has a bike obsessed dad and other family members also ride bikes, not so the youngest one. That is until his dad responds to the child’s refusal to sit in the baby seat by suggesting he tries his brother’s old tricycle. Soon he’s competently riding that, so it’s replaced with a balance bike and not long after, by a cycle with two big wheels and two stabilisers. This means that our narrator is allowed to ride out in the street. He practises and practises until one day his dad takes him to the park and there at the top of a hill, removes the stabilisers. With his heart pounding and Dad’s reassuring words in his head, off the newbie cyclist goes, faster and faster reaching the bottom safe and sound where he receives a big hug from his dad.

Becoming a confident rider of a two-wheeler bike is almost a rite of passage for children and this is beautifully and expressively portrayed – albeit sans any spills – in Brizida Magro’s bright. patterned illustrations. She shows clearly how supportive the boy learner’s dad is in his facial expressions and body language in scenes that complement the upbeat text, which the author has based on his own experience.

Just right for sharing with young children starting out on the road to becoming competent cyclists.