Tuesday, March 24, 2015

THE GIRL AND THE BICYCLE by Mark Pett

Title: The Girl and the Bicycle
Author: Mark Pett
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Date: 2014

Did I say I love that Brown Paper Bag (BPB) art? I love when artists use colors and techniques that look like they doodled on old brown or beige construction paper - or even an old paper grocery bag. It's nostalgic, organic and warm.  I love it.

This is a WPB (Wordless Picture Book).

A young girl and her little brother were walking down the street.  She spied a green bicycle in a store window and fell in love. She decided right then and there she would do whatever it took to earn the money to buy that particular green bike. The girl was on a mission. After checking the pockets of pants in the laundry (it's where I always looked when I needed extra cash to buy a Slurpee) and digging under the couch cushions, the young entrepreneur sold lemonade and held a yard sale - with her little brother by her side the entire time. This girl was on fire, but, it wasn't enough. After being rejected by neighbors on offers to do odd jobs, one kind lady (possibly even her mother?) who recognized her plight, offered to pay her to do odd jobs around her house. After an entire year, the girl finally earned enough to purchase the bike but in a totally unexpected twist of fate, it wasn't the green bike that she ended up buying...

"Little girls with dreams become women with vision." - Unknown


Favorite part of the book: The message of persistence, kindness and reward. Oh yeah, and the dog barking at the vacuum.

The Art: BPB (See above) Rendered in pencil and watercolor. Cozy.

Note: Did you see the red airplane in the box in the garage?



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