About the Holiday
May is National Bike Month and today’s date was usually set aside for riders to replace their usual method of commuting to work with pedaling instead. This year, though, Bike to Work Week has been moved to September 17 – 27 and Bike to Work Day will occur on September 22. In it’s place we have Bike Anywhere Week! Biking is a great activity for getting much-needed exercise and enjoying the warm weather. So. bring out your bikes, pump up the tires, and take to a street or trail near you!
Bikes for Sale
Written by Carter Higgins | Illustrated by Zachariah OHora
“They were new once. And then they weren’t.” The yellow bike with the lemonade stand attached to the front belonged to Maurice. He rode through town to the grocery store, into the 3rd Street park where he picked lemons, and out to a spot mid-way between the grocery store and the park snack bar. Everywhere he went, he found customers for his twenty-five-cent cups of “squeezy drops of sunshine”—cup included. After a while, Maurice moved on to another spot even though there were still people who wanted his thirst-quenching lemonade.
Image copyright Zachariah OHora, 2019, text copyright Carter Higgins, 2019. Courtesy of Chronicle Books.
The red bike with the basket on the back that was perfect for collecting sticks belonged to Lotta. “She rode it to the woods, through the ditch on 5th street that had the best mud, and to the fort.” Wherever she rode, Lotta was always on the lookout for more sticks. She built up her fort with sticks and gave some away. She thought sticks were “the best thing to collect.” After a while, she would ride on even though there were still people who wanted a stick.
Image copyright Zachariah OHora, 2019, text copyright Carter Higgins, 2019. Courtesy of Chronicle Books.
They rode all over—sometimes leaving sticks and lemon peels in their wake—until for Maurice “…what looked like a small stick was really a smashup,” leaving him without his lemonade bicycle, and for Lotta “…what looked like some petals was really some peels,” leading to a catastrophic crash. They both took up walking—which left the lemonade buyers and the stick collectors out of luck.
“Meanwhile…. To someone new, the rust sparkled. The deflated tires still held hope. Sid could read the stories the bikes had to tell. Then one day, Maurice happened by a corner store with a sign that read: Bikes For Sale: Abandoned & Discarded, Found & Restored. Come See Sid. At the same time, Lotta read the sign on the other side of the corner. “And then they went to see Sid.”
Image copyright Zachariah OHora, 2019, text copyright Carter Higgins, 2019. Courtesy of Chronicle Books.
Now “Lotta rode her bike to the woods,” into the 3rd Street park, and “through the ditch on 5th Street…” and “Maurice rode his bike to the grocery store,” to the 3rd Street park, and into the woods on their new bicycle for two. “They had new adventures,” and even the lemons and sticks took on a new sheen. And Maurice and Lotta each discovered a new friend. “And that’s how friendships begin. They are new once. And then, they aren’t.”
Image copyright Zachariah OHora, 2019, text copyright Carter Higgins, 2019. Courtesy of Chronicle Books.
In her overlapping story about Maurice and Lotta and their beloved bikes, Carter Higgins creates a layered celebration of what makes life—and particularly childhood—so rich. In her sparse, lyrical prose, Higgins explores the ideas of freedom, independence, self-assurance, loss, renewal, and friendship. Lotta and Maurice are industrious and joyful as they ply their trades around town and then zip off to discover new environs. When they both lose their bikes, they don’t complain or give up but wait for a new opportunity—and are open to it when it comes. Once solo contractors, Maurice and Lotta embrace their tandem lifestyle, which makes even their lemons and sticks shine brighter and gives them a permanence they didn’t have before.
Zachariah OHora’s wide-eyed Maurice and smiley Lotta happily tool around on their bikes, gathering supplies and handing out their wares around town and in a park centered around a lake complete with swan boats. OHora’s colorful palette is as fresh as a sunny summer day and invites kids along for the ride through the city, into the ditch, past the dog walker, the construction workers, and the recipients of Lotta’s sticks who find fun and creative ways to use them. An aerial view of Lotta and Maurice as they pass each other on the path that will, literally and metaphorically, deprive them of their bikes and unite them in the end is a clever touch that will have children guessing what comes next. The final two-page spread of the finished fort—which now serves as Lotta and Maurice’s new lemonade and stick stand—paired with Carter Higgins’ touching truism about friendship makes a moving ending that will tug at readers’ hearts.
An emotional charmer, Bikes for Sale is a can’t-miss addition to home, classroom, and public library collections.
Ages 5 – 7
Chronicle Books, 2019 | ISBN 978-1452159324
Discover more about Carter Higgins and her books on her website.
To learn more about Zachariah OHora, his books, and his art, visit his website.
Bike Anywhere Week Activity
Come Bike with Me! Coloring Page
Here’s a bike just for you! Draw yourself riding it and fill in where you go. Will it be to the park, through town, or somewhere else? Print this page and have some fun!
Come Bike with Me! Coloring Page
You can find Bikes for Sale at these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-MillionBook
To support your local independent bookstore, order here
Picture Book Review
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