About the Holiday

Established in 1956 and sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, National Bike Month celebrates all the fun and benefits of cycling. Communities around the country celebrate with special events, tours, and safety lessons. The month also hosts Bike to School and Bike to Work days to encourage people to leave their cars at home, get fresh air and exercise, and have fun at the same time. Although the month of May is winding down, biking is always a fantastic way to enjoy family time! For more information visit the League of American Bicyclists.

Yellow, Red, Green—Go!

Written by Ellen Mayer | Illustrated by Ying-Hwa Hu

Mommy and her child are off on a bike ride to visit Grandma! On the way, Mommy points out the traffic lights they pass—and sometimes need to stop for. Mommy explains what each color means and the pattern the colors make. “‘Yellow means we have to slow down,’ says Mommy.” When the light changes, her little one is excited to explain “‘Red means stop.'” But in a minute, the eager tyke urges her on: “‘Green, Mommy! Go!'”

Illustration copyright © 2024 by Ying-Hwa Hu. Text copyright © 2024 by Ellen Mayer. Courtesy of Star Bright Books.

As they continue on, the pair continues to repeat the pattern, making a playful game of it. They pass a toy store and go inside, where they find more patterns in the toys and displays. It’s one more fun thing to tell Grandma! Back on their bike, they soon roll into Grandma’s neighborhood. Here the little one finds a pattern on the facade of her apartment block and points out, “‘Window, light, door. Window, light, door. Window, light . . . .'” Wait! there’s a surprise! “‘Window, light . . . Grandma!'”

The story includes a Note for Parents and Caregivers from Dr. Ashli-Ann Douglas, a Research Associate II at WestEd, whose
research focuses on improving mathematics teaching and learning to support children’s development of strong math skills and
positive math beliefs.

In her Note, Dr. Douglas discusses the benefits of talking to young children about recognizing patterns—one of the important building blocks to understanding many parts of math that children will encounter as they move through school. Dr. Douglas then invites adults to engage their children in pattern scavenger hunts within the story’s text as well as at home and away while encouraging them to find patterns in sounds, routines, and other areas of daily life.

Endearing parent-child interactions are at the heart of award-winning author Ellen Mayer’s Small Talk Books® that model rich conversations between a young child and an adult and enhance fun learning opportunities naturally present in many daily activities. In Yellow, Red, Green—GO! the child’s excitement to show an understanding of patterns is infectious, and youngest readers will eagerly want to join in around their own home and community. Readers will notice the strong back-and-forth patter between Mommy and child as they get on the bike and react to what they see on the way to Grandma’s—a stimulating dynamic that creates a fertile environment for language development and is a sweet way to build bonds.

Ying-Hwa Hu’s adorable illustrations glow with the child’s giggly enthusiasm for finding patterns and the close relationship between Mommy and her little one. Hu populates the community with other child-adult pairs and favorite objects and scenes that readers can talk about. She also includes plenty of opportunities to point out other patterns and to name colors, animals, toys, and other city features. As Mommy and the child interact, Hu demonstrates ways in which adults can engage their children through body language. Fans of other books in this series will be excited to see familiar objects and characters throughout the pages.

A delightful addition to the Small Talks Books® series, Yellow, Red, Green—GO! is a must for every library, daycare, or preschool board book collection and is highly recommended for any young child’s home bookshelf.

Yellow, Red, Green—GO! is also available in a Spanish/English edition

Ages 2 – 5

Star Bright Books, 2026 | ISBN 978-1595729798 | Bilingual Edition ISBN 978-1595729804

Ellen Mayer is an award-winning children’s author who has worked as an education researcher and early literacy home visitor. Her other math story books published by Star Bright Books include Banana for Two, Clean Up, Up, Up!, and Leaves to My Knees. She lives with her husband in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Visit her at ellenmayerbooks.com.

Ying-Hwa Hu is an award-winning illustrator. Her work has been exhibited at the Bologna Book Fair and The Society of Illustrators Original Art Show. Ying-Hwa has illustrated over 30 books, many of which she collaborated on with her husband Cornelius Van Wright, also an illustrator and author. They live in New York City. Visit her at yinghwahu.com.

National Bike Month Activity

Yellow, Red, Green–Go! Activities

You can find lots of Yellow, Red, Green—GO! activities, including a pattern coloring page; a song sheet with lyrics for “The Wheels on the Bike,” a take off on “The Wheels on the Bus;” an original song that explores patterns, sung by Anna Adler; a Teaching Guide by California Early Math Project; and more to download on the Star Bright Books website.

You can also find the above activities and a fun craft on Ellen Mayer’s website.