Together We Ride

PreS-K–A young Black girl learns to ride a two-wheeled bicycle with her father guiding and cheering her on. She rides, falls, and bravely tries again. When she’s steady, the whole family goes out for a ride: the girl and her mother on their own bikes, while Dad tows the little brother along behind and holds the dog’s leash (everyone wears a helmet). Accompanying the spare, rhyming text that echoes the cadence of Stick & Stone by Beth Ferry, the illustrations bring the story to life in detail, setting it in the Bay Area of California with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny day. The moment of drama (“slip, slide, tossed aside”) is depicted with compelling sequential illustrations of the girl wobbling and crashing with wavy lines around her bike tires, but on the following spread, her father hugs her and waits for her to calm down and decide what to do. Even without dialogue, it’s clear he is as pumped as she is (“what pride!”) about her perseverance in acquiring a new skill; even the dog jumps for joy.