Review by Booklist Review
Gillis, an environmental scientist, gently teaches about sustainability and perspective in this charming, Goldilocks-style story. A bird finds a bike with a "Free" sign on it and gives it a ride, but alas, it is too big. A rhino then gives the bike a try, but it turns out to be too little. Next, a cheetah comes upon the bike but discovers it is too slow. Turtle then has the opposite problem: the bike is too fast! The quick-paced, fun storytelling engages readers to find out if the bike will be just the right fit for its next owner. The clever text is packed with onomatopoeia during each creature's test drive of the bike, making the book extra fun to read aloud. The story's energy and charm are enhanced by Souva's colorful and playful artwork, which incorporates postcards and other textures to create whimsical action and humor. An entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of both reusing discarded objects and differences in perspective.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
Duck finds a bike with a sign that says "free" leaning against it. After taking it for a spin, Duck realizes the bike is too big: "wibble, wobble, whoops." Then a rhino comes along, for whom the bike is too small: "thump, bump, whump." It's too slow for a cheetah, too fast for a turtle. Gillis's text is simple enough to make this picture book double as an effective beginning reader, and the story makes a jaunty and poetic impression. Souva's digital illustrations take a restrained approach, relying on spot images built out of blended textures that observant readers will appreciate. Eventually, a warthog crashes the bike, and a human parent finds and fixes it up for their child: "a new bike!...just right for me!" Another book might have stopped there, but this one continues as the child grows out of the bike, moves on to bigger ones, and many years later finds the old bike in the attic as an adult. Then what does the bike's owner do? Puts it out with a "free" sign for another child to find. In this way, the story uses a light touch to provide a layered look at sustainability, modeling the values of passing things along to those who can use them and mending what's broken, and, most of all, the appeal of bicycling around town. Adrienne L. PettinelliMay/June 2025 p.64 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
What's a bike for if not to ride? Accompanied by a "Free" sign, a bicycle attracts the attention of a pigeon ("A big bike!"). After a wobbly ride, the bird crashes and deems the bike "too big for me." "Bye, bike." A rhino discovers it next ("A little bike!") and takes it for a spin. A few bumps later, the rhino decides it's "too little for me" and bids it farewell. A cheetah rides the bike up a steep incline and then abandons it ("Too slow for me!"). A turtle climbs on and zooms down the incline ("Too fast for me!"). Other animals find the bike wanting for various comical reasons, so it remains alone. Then…a human finds it. It's not in great shape, but with a little tinkering, it's good as new, and the mechanic's child learns to ride it expertly, because it's "just right for me!" Eventually the youngster outgrows it and leaves it with another "Free" sign, to the delight of another child, for whom it's perfect. This whimsical, thought-provoking story will charm readers with its kid-friendly exploration of how an object changes ownership over time; youngsters will appreciate the very satisfying conclusion--and may wish to discuss who left the bike at the start. The energetic, humorous illustrations, set mostly as vignettes against expanses of white space, were created digitally and with old postcards and other textured materials. Human characters are racially diverse. An utterly delightful and free-wheeling tale.(Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
