The Bicycle

The Bicycle

The Bicycle by Colin Thompson and Quentin Blake has that familiar feeling because the front page drawing is by the same man who drew all the Roald Dahl books. This is not an ordinary book and if you don’t understand the background you may think it a little weird. I did at first.

After reading the history, we had to go back and read it a second time and look into it just a little bit more.

The bicycle is a great picture book from an Australian author and illustrator.

 

Book 6 of the PRC: The Bicycle

 

The story behind The Bicycle 

The Bicycle was written by Colin Thompson following his trip to Cambodia in 2008. On that trip Thompson became aware of how central bicycles are to the lives of the Cambodians. This book celebrates the joy of the 2 wheeled invention.

Below is an expert from Readings.com which shares Colin Thompson’s discovery about the important function bicycles serve in some communities:

 

One day we drove for miles along dirt roads to visit a school in a village that was so remote, the head man said we were the first Westerners to go there. Although this village was a long way from main roads, there are villages with no schools that are even more remote. The nearest school, like the one we visited, is too far to walk to every day.

So Save the Children give them $50 bicycles and that bicycle is the difference between a child spending their life unable to read or write and working hard just to survive or becoming anything they want from a teacher to a doctor to the president of their country.

The Book Itself

As I said, this isn’t an ordinary book. It’s more a picture book in the authentic sense. There isn’t a single storyline through the book. Instead each double page is a storyline in itself.

Each page is a reflection of how bicycles are used in everyday life or how dreams are realised  or created by the bicycle. There are also bicycle related quotes throughout the book, some being from famous people and others are from ordinary Cambodians.

If you’re reading the book with little children, ask them to point out the bicycles in the pictures. For slightly bigger kids you can ask them what the bicycle is being used for in each picture.

It’s such a real book and with a stunning purpose. All the proceeds from the sale of the book go to Save the Children so it is also worthwhile purchasing a copy if you are going to add it to your list.

 

Our PRC booklist

 

At this stage of the challenge, we have also read: Thelma the UnicornGuess How Much I Love You and The Cat in the Hat. For more details on each book and in order to help you decide whether you want to add it to your list, just click on the name of the book and it should take you to the full review.

 

 

NSW Premier Reading Challenge

The NSW Premier Reading Challenge is an initiative by the department of education to promote literacy and reading. It is not a competition, it is a challenge.

There is an extensive list of books on the website from which you choose the number of books you have to read. We have to read 30 because my son is in the K – Year 2 Challenge.

Once we read our book we add it to our booklist and if we get to 30 we get a certificate from the Premier.

You can find out more from the NSW PRC Website. 

 

 

 

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