Bear's Bicycle [Paperback]

Emilie Warren McLeod (Author), David McPhail (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

A young boy & an outrageous bear demonstrate how to ride a bicycle safely.

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 30, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316562068
• ISBN-13: 978-0316562065
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #836,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( M ) > McPhail, David

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On the Road, February 9, 2005

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bear's Bicycle (Paperback)

Cute.

Not too cute, but just the right amount of cute in this funny, beautifully illustrated, award-winning book about a boy who goes bike-riding with his imagination.

Our young, nattily dressed (great hat!) hero takes out his training-wheeled green and red bike, with his stuffed teddy bear. Somehow, that bear becomes a gigantic real bear, and the humongous real bear rides his own tiny little yellow bicycle along side the boy.

The wise boy explains (and the illustration show) traffic rules that he follows whenever he rides (and there are some useful ones: watching for opening doors, looking both ways, etc.). The bear does not follow the rules. He gets into accidents and mishaps, but his size and the author's good taste keep him from any trips to the hospital. Author McLeod and illustrator McPhail manage to show the danger without scaring us, and, indeed, with a bit of humor.

This is an enormously appealing little book. The symmetrical structure contrasting the boy's cautious, safe ride, versus the bear's slapstick miscues. This organization and the single sentence in each two-page example clearly explain each imp0rtant rule of the road. The illustrations by the renowned McPhail are warm and welcoming, soft and soothing, yet funny. You don't have to know how to ride a bike to enjoy this masterpiece of simplicity and imagination.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My kids and I love this book, June 5, 2004

By 

K. Friend (Lake Ridge, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bear's Bicycle (Library Binding)

I got this out of the library two weeks ago, and my two children, ages 4 and 2, have made me read it to them at least twice a day. They really like the story of the boy who goes for a bike ride and brings along his teddy bear. However, the teddy turns into a real bear who definately does not follow the rules of the road. We all laugh at the scenes of the boy acting sensibly (stopping when others are walking in front of him, maneuvering around garbage cans and open car doors) and of the bear plowing ahead and into all of these things. It's sweet and funny, and can also double as a safety lesson for beginner bicycle riders.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clever story, beautifully illustrated, February 19, 2003

By 

A. Costa (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bear's Bicycle (Paperback)

My twin boys (22 months) continue to laugh hysterically at this book and somehow I haven't gotten tired of it yet. Wonderful illustrations with a very nice close. A bit of cartoonish violence(bears on bicycles running into mailmen) might put it in the not-for-everybody category, though.