Birth of the Bicycle: A Bumpy History of the Bicycle in America 1819-1900
by Sarah Nelson (Author) Iacopo Bruno (Illustrator)
Three cheers for the birth of the bicycle!
Hop on for a jaunty, rhythmic ride through a playfully illustrated history. From the pedal-less, brakeless wooden velocipedes of the 1800s to the sleek racing machines of today, from a luxury for the wealthy to a lifeline for the working class, the bicycle's journey is a study in invention, innovation, and ingenuity.
Sarah Nelson's affectionate and poetic tribute covers almost a century of the two-wheeler's development, while Iacopo Bruno's bold, bright artwork illuminates this marvel of engineering. Cycling enthusiasts as well as budding mechanical engineers, inventors, tinkerers, and dreamers will revel in this fact-packed nonfiction adventure story--complete with a time line and other lively back matter designed to remind readers how truly extraordinary everyday objects can be.
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Publishers Weekly
Polished illustrations by Italian artist Bruno draw immediate attention in this bicycle history. Digitally colored pencil drawings of 19th-century city scenes supply historical context, while images of the early machines make it easier to understand how novel the contraptions were amid horse-and-carriage transport. Nelson's sometimes shaky verse introduces the iterations, including an early pedal-less velocipede from Germany, upon which riders sat, steered, and hoped for the best ("Laws were written and hastily passed/ No velocipedes on the walking paths!"), and a brake-less version that arrived from France. Not until the appearance of brakes, rubber tires, spokes, and other features in the 1890s did bicycles become affordable and popular, including with women riders, who "were off with a zoom/ in split skirts and high boots and bold pantaloons." The book, like the bicycle, moves briskly along, tracing a path from luxury item to mode of transportation for the masses. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. More information about bicycles concludes. Ages 6-9. (June)
Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Kirkus
Wheels out a chapter in the history of technology that merits greater recognition.
JNF054040 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Sports & Recreation | Cycling
United States
Bicycles
Cycling
