The Red Bicycle: The Extraordinary Story of One Ordinary Bicycle

 2016 USBBY Outstanding International Books 

Bibliography

Isabella, J. & Shin, S. (2015). The red bicycle : the extraordinary story of one ordinary bicycle. Toronto, ON Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.

Plot Summary
When Leo outgrows his bike, he learns that he can donate it to an organization that provides bikes to people that cannot afford a bicycle in other countries. Follow “Big Red’s” adventure to Africa and see how one simple donation can affect an entire community. 

 

Critical Analysis
This is a book that helps children think about the world outside of what they know. For many American children, having and learning how to ride a bicycle is a right of passage. It’s something done for entertainment. With The Red Bicycle, children will have the opportunity to see the importance of bicycles for transportation and how what they may see as a toy is an integral part of the community in other parts of the world. 

When the bicycles are shipped from the United States to Ghana, a map is provided for readers showing how the shipping container went from the road to a boat to Ghana, Africa. The residents of Africa all have rosy cheeks which conveys the happiness the people may have at the availability of such transportation. Children have the opportunity to see the dress of those in West Africa and become familiar with new terms such as “sorghum”, “dolo”, “draff”, and “pagne”. 

Select portions of the text are highlighted on each spread which emphasizes the main idea of what is currently happening in the story. It is also interesting to note the gray of the concrete when Big Red is in the United States and how the ground changes in West Africa to dark tans and browns due to the lack of roadways. 

This book also teaches students the importance of donation. Just because something is unusable to you doesn’t mean that another person couldn’t attempt to repurpose it for their own use. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” as the old platitude goes. Not only does Leo donate his bike, but when Alisetta can no longer use Big Red after getting a newer bicycle, the character Boukary offers to fix up the bike and it becomes an ambulance. One small action can have global consequences. 

Most importantly, the back of this book helps put the story in context with different images of how bicycles are used in Burkina Faso, the specific area mentioned in West Africa where the bicycle ended up with Alisetta and Haridata. 

Review Excerpt(s)

Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award Nominee for English Non-fiction (2017) 

Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize Nominee (2016)

2016 USBBY Outstanding International Books

A strong option for social studies curricula, this noteworthy title will encourage kids to think globally. ―School Library Journal

Appealingly illustrated by Shin, this is a particularly good depiction of the ripple effect that can follow one generous act. ―The New York Times

Connections 
Activities - The back of this book provides many activities for students to follow up with

• Big Red ends up in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Where else in the world could people donate their bicycles? Have students research a country and make the case for why donating bikes there would be a good idea. 
• Have students research and list reasons for why bicycles are a good form of transportation in their own community. 
• Organize a bicycle race for students and teachers to participate in. 
• Pair this activity with one on kindness or one that shows the consequences of one’s actions and how it becomes a ripple effect. 
• Google Earth Burkina Faso and imagine a possible bicycle path. Explore what is available to see using Google Earth. 
• Organize, advertise and run a bike drive at your school and then donate them overseas. 
• A math problem could be created regarding the time amount of time (29 days) and the distance the bicycle traveled from North American to Africa.  
• New terms are introduced in West Africa. Have students use context clues to figure out the definitions or what the words mean. Then have students look up the words, possibly using Google Translate or another means. 

Unbecoming

2017 USBBY Outstanding International Books

 

Bibliography

Downham, J. (2016). Unbecoming. New York: David Fickling Books/Scholastic Inc.

Plot Summary

Three women. One family. 
When Katie’s estranged grandmother comes to live with her family, she finds herself drawn to the woman and the life she has lived. In helping care for her grandmother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, while her mother frantically tries to find a way to rid herself of the woman, Katie begins to unravel the past and learn family secrets. She also learns what it means to love oneself. 

Critical Analysis

The writing in this novel is absolutely stunning, particularly when Mary is struggling with her memories.

“The panic builds slowly. It’s as if the world widens out to include things that don’t belong…” “Where is she? What year is it? The hands are the best clue. Folded like origami around her handbag. She lifts them in front of her face to look. They are lined and dry. She is ancient. The world shifts once more.” (pg 78) 

The narration flips between Katie, present day Mary, and past Mary beginning in 1954. Mary was carefree. She liked makeup and boys, but her father and sister did not approve of her openness. She becomes pregnant at a young age with Katie’s mother, Caroline. Her personality still shines through despite Alzheimer's affecting her memory. This may be what attracts Katie to the woman. Mary is everything her mother isn’t. 

Caroline has been affected by her mother’s absence as a child. Mary's sister, Pat, took Caroline in and raised her as her own while Mary went out and became an actress.  Now, Caroline is a control freak. Her expectations for Katie are high, especially since the novel takes place during exams, and she has a son with special needs to care for. Taking care of her mother is not a part of her plan. 

Katie is stuck in the middle of the two personalities. For one, she is struggling with her sexuality. After confessing, in a way, to her best friend Esme, she is shamed by the other girls in her grade. She wants to be accepted but cannot figure out how. The expectations her mother has of her is beginning to burn her out. Why can’t her mother lighten up? And then there is Simone, the girl everyone in school knows is a lesbian. She works at the cafe Mary insists on going to every day. 

The novel takes place in England. Katie is busy focusing on her exams which students could identify as finals. Mary is obsessed with the sea because Robert had a caravan by the sea that she visited. Caroline must jump through hoops in getting her mother into a care facility due to government requirements. Caroline is referred to as Mum, and when Katie does come out, she knows that her sexual identity is not accepted by the United Kingdom like it is in other places. This could contribute to why she hid it from herself for so long. However, she accepts herself by the end of the novel. 

It’s an interesting move on Downham’s part to not include the mother in the narration considering that it’s a multi-generational story. Instead, Caroline’s motivations are really revealed until the second half of the novel through conversations with Mary and Katie, and when Mary’s blue blank is filled in. 

    “A story, Katie decided as she crossed the courtyard to the gate, is like a bolt of material or a woolen scarf, and you might pull out a threat and look at it boldly because there it is sitting in your palm. But there are countless threads tangled together and some belong to you and some belong to other people, and incoherence and inconsistency become part of the narrative.” (352)  

Each woman is completely different from the other in this novel and shaped in some way by their relationship with their family. Mary’s perspective of how she was as a mother is certainly different than what Caroline remembers. This is apparent when Mary finally had custody of her daughter and wanted to show her off but Caroline wasn’t interested. And Caroline wanted stability for her own family because it was one thing she never had with Mary, and Pat suffered from depression. In the end, she suffocates her children and marriage. 

Many different themes are present in this novel. Sexual identity, depression, suicide, familial obligations, mothers, and forgiveness. 

Review Excerpt(s)

2017 USBBY Outstanding International Books

Stonewall Book Award Nominee for Children’s and Young Adult Literature (2016) 

YA Book Prize Nominee (2016) 

"Her prose gets right down inside human fragility, tenderness, fury, gusto, and strength -- leaving sweet, sharp images that are impossible to forget. Exceptional." --Kirkus Reviews

Connections 
Activities 

• What memories would you be most upset to lose? 
• In the novel, Katie notes that when she was younger, she was assigned to complete a family tree. It was difficult for her to do due to her mother’s unwillingness to discuss the truth. Complete your own family tree and see how much you can fill in. Ask your parents or the adults in your family if they can help. 
• Create a class mural with chalk outside the building to represent everyone in class and everyone’s perspective. 
• Write out a memory you have with another person - a friend, a family member, a teacher, etc. Have them write down what they remember about the event as well. Compare notes. How are your accounts similar? How are your accounts different? 
• Interview your parent(s) or grandparent(s) about how they were raised. How did they raise their own children differently?

Another Multi-generational & Multicultural YA

Perkins, M. (2017). You bring the distant near. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. 

The Sidekicks

 

Bibliography

Kostakis, W. (2017). The sidekicks. Don Mills, Ontario, Canada: Harlequin Teen.

Plot Summary

Three boys who seem to have nothing in common are brought together by the death of a classmate. Each boy had a special relationship with Isaac and attempt to navigate their grief in the best way they know how, eventually learning how to lean on each other. 

 

Critical Analysis

This novel is split into three parts: the swimmer, the rebel, and the nerd. Each boy is affected in different ways by the death of a mutual friend, Isaac. Kostakis provides a distinct voice for each character. While listening to the audio version of the novel, it could have been easy to get lost in who was narrating at any given time, but this was not a problem due to the clarity of each character’s personality. Ryan, Olympic hopeful, has lost the one friend who knows his secret; Harley has lost his best friend is overridden with guilt at the thought that he could possibly be the cause of Isaac’s death; Miles had two partnerships with Isaac that were clearly business, but he grew to care for the other boy as a friend. 

Each section begins with the news of Isaac’s death. First, Ryan learns of his friend’s passing and dives into practice without stopping. Then Harley’s perspective begins during Isaac’s last moments. Harley leaves Isaac and their other friends to go home and sleep the night off, not knowing it will be the last time he sees his friend. He also provided more than just alcohol for Isaac, but what exactly he was able to supply is never revealed. He sinks into a sort of depression, skipping school and drinking his mother’s wine until one day, he returns to school. Miles’s perspective begins earlier than Harley’s. He was to drink alcohol with Isaac after Isaac pestered him enough. But when Miles learns that Isaac has invited a bunch of people over and suspects Isaac to be high, he leaves. This guilt gnaws at him, and he relives his relationship with Isaac through playback of a film they worked on together. 

The glimpses of Isaac revealed through the boy’s memory of him is one of a charismatic, cocky, and humorous teenage boy. His sudden death is a shock to everyone, and it’s hard to imagine that he would be unhappy enough to commit suicide. This leads one to wonder if Isaac was secretly struggling with something his friends knew nothing about. This was a boy who enjoyed a good time and wanted others to partake and enjoy life. 

Miles' section of the novel was interesting. He thinks of life as a movie or television show and each time he is in a new setting, it is notated as if it were part of a script. He goes as far as comparing these new relationships with Harley and Ryan as a spin-off called The Sidekicks. 

The setting of Australia doesn’t have a huge affect on the story. There is one mention of Easter and winter sports starting which reminds the reader that the seasons are quite different from that in America. Harley goes to his father’s home in Gerringong which is 2 to 3 hours away from Sydney - three for Harley’s train ride. 

Ultimately, this is a story of how to deal with grief, finding support in people we may not have imagined, and learning how to be true to yourself. All of this is universal and the setting of Australia only solidifies that everyone struggles with unexpected death and identity. 

Review Excerpt(s)

"An engrossing study of relationships, unintended consequences, and the many-nuanced similarities and differences that makes us human. Male and female readers alike will be readily drawn into each character's unique emotional journey and the tapestry of friendship they ultimately create." -VOYA

"Kostakis makes good use of the three characters' narratives, moving from relatable Ryan to sympathetic Harley and finally the initially unprepossessing Miles, whose inability to wear a social mask and habit of seeing his life as a movie make him a touching narrator." --Publishers Weekly

While this is Kostakis's American debut, his literary polish and deep understanding of teen storytelling is compelling and nuanced from the first page.... A memorable experience with teens who grow to absorb tragedy and build a future on its foundation. VERDICT An excellent exploration of grief from a rising talent that belongs in all libraries serving teens." -School Library Journal

Connections 
Activities 

• Now that we’ve gotten Ryan, Harley, and Miles’ perspectives, write in Isaac’s. Choose a scene that involved Isaac and write from his point of view. 
• Miles thinks of life as a movie or television show, even going as far to think of himself in a spin-off show called The Sidekicks. If your life were a television series, what would the title be? Write a synopsis of the show and a scene with multiple characters. 
• Harley and Miles are upset at the wording in the Herald Daily regarding Isaac’s death. Why is this so important to them? 
• When Miles gets the alert about the Herald Daily, he mentions how the article has been updated. Have students look up their own articles and notate if they have been updated. 
• “Growing up, he’d say we spend our lives wrapping rubber bands around people. Some bands are so tight that you can feel them pulling you together. Some are loose and stretch for miles, there’s so much give you hardly notice them. But you’re still connected and sooner or later…” (174) Think about who you have wrapped your “rubber bands” around. Who in your life do you feel pulled to? Whose connections are loose for you? 

The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree

2020 Batchelder Award Honoree

Bibliography

Peretti, P., Muir, D. & Rabei, C. (2018). The distance between me and the cherry tree. London: Hot Key Books.


Plot Summary

Mafalda has a rare eye genetic eye condition known as Stargardt Disease. The 9 year-old’s vision is slowly deteriorating. A cherry tree stands at her elementary school. She uses it as a gauge for how far the “mist” has spread. She takes steps from when she can first see the tree and measures the distance. Afraid of what life has in store for her with no vision, she makes a plan to escape and live in the cherry tree. However things don’t go quite as she planned.


Critical Analysis

Not only does this novel take place in Italy, it also addresses a rare genetic eye condition that will eventually leave the main character, Mafalda, without vision. It’s heartbreaking to imagine what Mafalda is going through. There are several instances where someone with normal vision has to consider what would happen if their vision slowly deteriorated. For example, in order to read, she needs to use a magnifying glass and begin preparing to read braille. She also loses her best friend due to an accident because of her lack of vision.

It is apparent that Mafalda is young and innocent. At one point, she believes that she is going to have a baby based on the idea that being sick and having a sore stomach leads to pregnancy. She is also seemingly oblivious to Estella, a custodian at her school, and her health issues.

One frustrating thing that seems universal is the help Mafalda gets at school. The special education teacher is often more engrossed in his own book than helping Mafalda. This is not to say that this encompasses special education teachers or paraprofessionals, but it is apparent that her school is not prepared for her growing condition. “It sometimes feels like no one knows about my Stargardt mist, although I know they know. Maybe they forget because you can’t see it - my mist, that is.” (101-102)

If it weren’t for the fact that meters is the measuring system and the main character explaining how All Saints' Day is a holiday in Italy, one wouldn’t know that the book was originally written in Italian. The name of Mafalda is unique, as well as Chiara and some others, to the culture of Italy. This title gives readers a chance to see that children in other cultures have issues in their friendships, their health, and families.

This was, in all honesty, an unexpectedly good read. The author has based the book on her own experience with Stargardt Disease - which is important for those that have had or are going through this currently. Mafalda thinks the only way she won’t be a burden is by running away to the cherry tree at her school to be with her grandmother and the fictional character Cosimo, but she ultimately learns that her friends and family are there to support and care for her.


Review Excerpt(s)

2020 Batchelder Award Honoree

“A quiet, philosophical story for thoughtful readers.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Peretti, who was diagnosed with the same illness as a teenager, provides a tunnel of light for readers to reach for.” - Booklist


Connections 
Activities

• Convert the measurements mentioned into American units of measurement.
• Measure out the different meters mentioned in each section of the book and have students count their steps to see how close they may or may not be to Mafalda’s measurements. 
• Have students write letters to Mafalda as they continue reading in response to her experiences with Stargardt disease and her relationships with other characters. 
• Have students write their own lists of things they would miss or be afraid of losing if they lose their sight. 
• Research different rare genetic eye conditions and present either orally or written