Bikes and Kids Books

I loved it when my kids were old enough to learn to ride a bike. It kind of felt like they were ‘big kids’ gaining some independence. I remember clearly the day my oldest asked for his training wheels to be taken off. I put the bike in the car to take it to the park and made sure I brought along the spanner and training wheels fully expecting to have to put them back on when he ran out of patience.

Instead, he took to it really quickly and never looked back. That kid now rides an adult-sized bike, does wheelies and jumps, and bikes to school every day as the 5-yr-old desperately tries to keep up with him at every turn.

Most parents will get their kids 4-5 bikes as they grow up so there is often the chance to pair a great book with it. Here are a few of my recommendations for books that will match nicely with gifting a bike, or learning to ride a bike for the first time.

The Magical Yet, by Angela DiTerlizzi and Lorena Alvarez

You can kind of see the bike hidden there on the front cover, which is fitting, because though learning to ride is a part of this book, it’s not the main theme. This stunningly illustrated rhyming book is about the power of your mind in overcoming hurdles, obstacles, and barriers to achievement. This is a growth mindset book and bike riding is the example used to show how learning a new skill means facing failures and setbacks.

I gave this book to one of my daughters for her birthday a few years ago and have read it to nieces and nephews and I still get emotional at the end. Readers get a glimpse of what the girl grows up to become because of her determination to learn and push through and believe in the magical ‘yet’.

The Girl and the Bicycle, by Mark Pett

When you love books it’s difficult to truly say which ones are your favourites, but this one has been a close, cherished story for more than 5 years and I still love to read it so that qualifies it as a favourite.

This is not a story or learning to ride a bike, it’s a story of loving a bike so much you’re willing to sell your toys, search the house and work at chores to get the money for one. Even more, it’s a story about finding something that is more valuable than that much sought-after bike. This still brings tears to my eyes and I love gifting it to other families so they can enjoy it too.

Mulga Bill’s Bicycle, by A.B. Paterson, illustrated by Deborah Niland and Kilmeny Niland

This is a classic from my childhood. Could this also have been read on Play School, with no Youtube around in the 1980s I don’t see how I would have a memory of someone reading it aloud to me on a screen.

I think this is a great way to introduce kids to some classic Australian poetry. Banjo Patterson is a renowned contributor to Australian culture and history and many kids might not realise his contributions. This illustrated version of his poem about a man who buys a penny-farthing despite not knowing how to ride it is set up perfectly for an amusing ending.

This Was Our Pact, by Ryan Andrews

This is a middle-grade graphic novel that centres around a bike ride on a cold Autumn night. Ben and his pack of school friends set on a quest to find where the festival lanterns go and make a pact that no one will turn back. As with any group of friends, there is a hierarchy and the exploration of this forms a key theme in the book. A very high-quality book that has been much appreciated in our house.