Me and My Bike

by Ander, Ander (Illustrator)

Overview

Uniquely cinematic in form, the storyline of this brilliantly illustrated tale follows a young boy who dreams of owning a new bicycle. As he interacts with his grandfather, friends, and mother, the boy slowly discovers that reaching a dream can be a difficult task, especially when money is tight. Eventually the boy learns to make do in times of both hope and despair, and, despite struggles, he develops personal strength and compassion for others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780978755027
Publisher:	Heryin Books, Inc.
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Pages:	68
Product dimensions:	7.75(w) x 7.75(h) x 0.51(d)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Ander has been in the animation industry for 15 years and has worked on production of numerous animated children’s films.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 2-5

A boy in an unnamed Asian setting wishes for a new bicycle, but his family cannot afford one. He tries everything from magic wishes to riding double on a friend's bike, but finally reconciles himself to keeping his old clunker. He paints it a different color and feels as if he has a new bike. Deep emotion flows beneath this simple text: longing, frustration, joy, resourcefulness. The story feels personal, like a memory or slice of the author's life, and the child's first-person narration does not detract from the almost adult sophistication of the telling. The book has the feel of a graphic novel. The sketchy cartoon illustrations done on heavy textured stock are full of movement and changes in perspective, and they carry much of the storytelling and humor. This is a beautifully understated, often amusing meditation on being resilient, appreciating what you have, and still sustaining hope for something better.-Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

School Library Journal

On his Grandpa's (possibly) magic teapot a lad makes two of his allotted three wishes: for a new bike-soon. Things don't work out quite as expected, however; first his best friend buys the bike on which he'd set his heart, and then a shared joyride ends in a disastrous crash. After his mother tells him the chestnut about how she used to fret that she had no shoes until she met a man who had no legs, he reflects on how hard she works to support the family, finally settling for a new coat of paint on Grandpa's old bike. Ander gives the tale a contemporary Chinese setting, dressing the skinny narrator in sneakers and baggy shorts, placing him in tidy but not-so-prosperous surroundings and tucking in non-English signs and sound effects for added flavor. Printed on textured paper, the bright, delicate illustrations begin and end on the endpapers; nonetheless, pasting down the flaps won't hide anything significant in this thoughtful take on the universal theme of wanting one thing, but settling for something else. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews