BOOKS:

Burleigh, Robert.  Messenger, Messenger.  Illustrated by Barry Root.  Atheneum, 2000.
    Calvin Curbhopper, a bicycle messenger, makes his way through the city in all kinds of conditions to make sure that his messages get delivered on time.

Dodds, Dayle Ann.  Wheel Away!  Illustrated by Thacher Hurd.  Harper & Row, 1989.
    A runaway bicycle wheel takes a bouncy, bumpy, noisy journey through town.

Johnston, Tony.  Three Little Bikers.  Illustrated by G. Brian Karas.  Knopf, 1994.
    Follows the adventures of three young sheep as they bicycle through the countryside.   

Shannon, David.  Duck on a Bike.  Illustrated by author.  Blue Sky Press, 2002.
    A duck decides to ride a bike and soon influences all the other animals on the farm to ride bikes too.

Wolff, Ashley.  Stella and Roy.  Illustrated by author.  Penguin, 1996.
    Even though Stella's bike is much faster than Roy's, he manages to win their race around the park because she keeps stopping to enjoy its natural beauty.

Wood, Audrey.  Red Racer.  Illustrated by author.  Simon & Schuster, 1996.
    Nona tries desperately to get rid of her junky old bike so that she can get the Deluxe Rocket Racer which she sees in the store window.

STORYTELLING:

Blake, Quentin.  Mrs. Armitage on Wheels.  Illustrated by author.  Knopf, 1997.
    Relates the misadventures of Miss Armitage as she makes increasingly complicated modifications of her bicycle.    

I told this story with the magnetic board.  I used a picture of the bicycle from the book and added the various "improvements" that the story described.  The pieces were made by photocopying and enlarging various illustrations.

VIDEO:

Remarkable Riderless Runaway Tricycle.  Phoenix/BFA Films, 1982.  Based on the book by Bruce McMillan. 11 minutes.
    A picture story in which a tricycle, whose young owner distractedly abandons it, ends up in a dump, but escapes and careens around town in a series of humorous hijinks and then returns, at last, to its downcast owner.

PARTICIPATION ACTIVITIES:

I Like My Bike--chant
(Have children repeat each line.  Start with chorus and repeat it between each verse.  End by repeating chorus several times, getting softer and softer.)

My Bicycle--fingerplay
    One wheel, two wheels on the ground 
        (revolve hand in forward circle)
    My feet make the pedal go round and round 
        (pedal with feet)
    Handle bars help me steer so straight 
        (pretend to steer)
    Down the sidewalk and through the gate!

My Bike--song  (sung to "The Farmer in the Dell")
    Pedal round and round,
        (roll hands around each other)
    Pedal round and round,
    I steer my bike
       (pretend to steer bike)
    Anywhere I like.
    Pedal round and round.

We Are Going on a Bike Ride--song  (sung to "I Am Slowly Going Crazy")
(Roll hands around each other during the entire song.  Say the various things you "found" and have the kids respond.  For example, when you say "pothole" the children should quickly move their hands downward, as if their bike hit a pothole.  We "hit several potholes" and then I sang the song again, but the next time we "found" something else. )

    We are going on a bike ride.
    Wheels on the bike go round and round.
    Steer it straight and pedal steady,
    But now look what we found.

Say:    

• Pothole  (dip hands quickly downward)
• Bumps  (move hands quickly upward)
• Branches  (move hands to side, as if swerves from branch)
• Hill  (move hands upward and slow rolling motion of hands, then move downward and speed up rolling motion)

CRAFT:

Bicycle Stickers & Bicycle License Plates
http://www.kcls.org/webkids/btgo/themebicycles.cfm

* The "I Like My Bike" chant and "My Bike" and "We Are Going on a Bike Ride" songs, which were written by Susan M. Dailey, can be used freely in programs, but may not be re-posted, reproduced, or sold without prior permission.

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