CCBC Booklists - Cooperative Children's Book Center

CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.

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The Red Bicycle: The Extraordinary Story of One Ordinary Bicycle

by Jude Isabella

CCBC Review:

A compelling picture book about the journey of a single bicycle that plays an important role in many lives. The bike is originally purchased by a boy in North America who eventually outgrows it and donates it to an international organization that provides bicycles to people in Africa. The bicycle is shipped overseas to Ghana, and from there to the country of Burkina Faso, where it ends up with a girl named Alisetta. She uses the bike for transportation to and from the fields to tend crops and to sell things at the market. She eventually donates it to a group that repairs it and turns it into a medical clinic ambulance in another village. Haridata, a young woman who volunteers for the clinic, rides the ambulance from village to village tending to the people in need of care. The lengthy primary narrative is complemented by a much simpler one that appears as display type on each page spread in this picture book that uses a fictional story to provide a concrete example of repurposing, cause-and-effect, and caring. A helpful author’s note tells more about a number of programs that repurpose bicycles in local communities and internationally. ©2015 Cooperative Children's Book Center

Illustrated by Simone Shin

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 6-9
Age Range: PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7) Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format: Picture book
Subjects: Burkinabe People Generosity Ghanaians and Ghanaian Americans Recycling and Repurposing Vehicles and Transportation
Diversity subject: Black/African

Publisher: Citizen Kid
Publish Year: 2015
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781771380232
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Isabella

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