Born to Ride: A Story about Bicycle Face is a fictionalized story. It tells how a turn-of-the-century girl shakes off expectations and takes off on a bicycle. The story is charming. I loved all the references to women’s suffrage in the illustrations.
But my very favorite part of the book is the back matter. The back matter explains how the term “bicycle face” used to be used. The invented disorder discouraged women from riding bikes. The back matter also has a wonderful short essay about how women riding bicycles was connected to women getting the vote.
Best of all, the back matter has photos and vintage illustrations that make the point very well about the importance of bicycles to women’s freedom.
The book reminded me of a middle grade book. You may remember Sue Macy’s Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) (National Geographic: 2017). This picture book is a nice introduction to the topic for a younger set. Older readers who like this book should definitely head on to Macy’s much more comprehensive book.
The really passionate can find links to 19th century writing about bicycles here on Sue Macy’s site. And if your reader is too young for middle grade books, you can always enjoy another bit of Sue Macy goodness. Maybe one of her picture book biographies.
Born to Ride: A Story about Bicycle Face, by Larissa Theule, illustrated by Kelsey Garrity-Riley. Abrams: 2019.
Hi Annette! These are completely new to me. Thanks much for sharing the picture book & Wheels of Change, too. My granddaughters will enjoy both. The oldest one, playing softball this summer is now reading a fiction book about a girl who fought to be on a Little League baseball team. They’ll be surprised to read about the bicycles.
Looks intriguing. Thanks for sharing.