Hello, Bicycle!

Hello, Bicycle!

Climb the seat. Twist the bars. Helmet’s on. Check for cars. Pedal’s up. Dad’s in view. Ready, start―coming through! Good-bye, tricycle! It’s time to learn to ride a new big-kid bike. Riding a bicycle can be fun…even if there are a few bumps along the way. Daniel Griffo’s digital illustrations add to the excitement of a child’s first attempt at riding a bicycle without training wheels. Grab your helmet, hang on tight, and let’s go! Ages 4-7 Boyd s debut centers on a girl who trades her babyish blue plastic tricycle for a red two-wheeler: Bye, Bye, Blue./Hello, red!/ Shiny paint./ Smokin tread. Pared-down couplets chronicle the girl s maiden voyage on the bike, which requires some careful navigation ( Miss the rock./ Skim the hole./ Squish the hose./Dodge the pole ), but proceeds remarkably, and perhaps unrealistically, smoothly. Twice Boyd breaks form to use a bit of repetition that echoes the bouncy ride of a bicycle down the street: Down the hill I bump, bump, bump./ Feel it on my rump, rump rump is later followed by My little heart goes thump, thump, thump,/ when I make the jump... bump, rump. Griffo s brassy, digital cartoons have a kid-pleasing Nickelodeon vibe and feature electric colors and skewed perspectives, giving the heroine a cheerful, textured, and fully realized world to explore. Though the girl is in constant motion, there s little action to the story; it s best suited to those just starting to read as well as ride on their own. --Publishers Weekly, August Issue Ella Boyd has been dreaming up adventures and stories all her life. Ella had her first publication in junior high and has been hooked on writing ever since. She is a daughter, mother, and grandmother. Ella is also an avid genealogist. She loves US and world history, science fiction, and, most of all, her family. This is Ella’s first children’s book. She lives in Nebraska. Daniel Griffo became a self-taught comic illustrator in his teens and worked for both Argentinean and Italian publishers. He went on to create licensed artwork for various studios, which sharpened his skills. As a freelance illustrator, Daniel has worked for such companies as Image Comics, Warner Bros. Entertainment, DC Comics, and Disney. He lives in La Plata, Argentina, with his wife, Elba; his son, Benjamin; and their two pets, Indiana and Jones. Learn more about the artist online: www.danielgriffo.net