I really like riding bikes as a way to get places. I like doing it with my kids, too! There aren't quite as many books for kids about bikes as there are about say, cars and trucks and construction equipment, but there are some out there. Here are a few I like a lot!

Picture books: 🔗

In paper pages (picture books; preschool-ish age), we have:

• "Bikes for Sale" by Carter Higgins. This one is my absolute favorite. It's a story of friendship, ultimately, with two people (er, anthropomorphic animals) who have their own particular bikes and their own favorite places to ride and people they like to see while doing their favorite activities, but then they both crash and their bikes break. They try out adventuring without a bike, but it's not as fun. So they go see Sid, a raccoon who fixes up broken bikes and makes them rideable again. At the end of the book both of our initial characters are back on bikes: trying something new while still enjoying some of their old favorites, riding together now as Sid has taken pieces from both bikes and created a tandem. Our older kid (currently 4) has enjoyed this one for a couple years now; we read it pretty regularly.

• "Ride Beside Me" by Lucy Knisley. It focuses on a nice family ride on a nice day, and culminates with a group ride with all the bikes in the streets, Kidical Mass style. It talks about the need for safe places for bikes to ride. There is a mention of how biking can be dangerous because of vehicle traffic, and a ghost bike appears on one of the pages as an illustration. Overall though, the theme is that riding bikes feels great, and riding with friends and community feels even better. This was a library check-out for us but I'd like to add it to our home collection at some point!

For board books: 🔗

• "Go Bikes Go" by Addie Boswell is a favorite for the whole family. When we take off from a stop, like at a stoplight, we like to say "Go bikes, go!" After you read this, I bet you'll want to say it too!

• "My Bike" by Byron Barton is a nice one we picked up recently. It has a bit of a surprise at the end. The main character, speaking in first person, introduces us to his bike and what happens on his way to work, riding his bike. He arrives at work and sees... a lion!? Some monkeys!? He proceeds to change into his uniform, with its white face paint and red nose; climb a tall ladder; and go to work on a unicycle high-wire at a circus. Our younger kid really likes this one.

Books I'd like to read: 🔗

Dan Saks has a new book that just came out called "On Our Bikes". Some of his other picture books are some of my favorites - "Familes Belong", "Families Can", and "We Share This Community" especially. I've liked every book from this author I've read (a couple more beyond the ones I listed), so I'm excited to read one about bikes! Dan Saks also makes music for children; all the board books have a very pleasant rhythm when read aloud.

Bicycle Bob and the bike revolution by Josh Freed just came out as well! It's a picture book aimed at slightly older kids than mine telling the story of a bike-riding safe streets activist in Montreal- the story of how Montreal became the closest thing to paradise a bike-lover can find in North America.