The Bicycle Man

by Allen Say

Book Overview

The amazing tricks two American soldiers perform on a borrowed bicycle are a fitting finale for the school sports day festivities in a small village in occupied Japan.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395506522
• ISBN13: 9780395506523
• Release Date: March 1989
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 8.9" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

the bicycle man

set during post WWII Japan, this is a touching tale of a boy who discovers that strangers are human and not necessarily the enemy. unexpected twist which provoked smiles and stimulated conversation among a group of adults who overheard the reading. illustrations were accurate depictions of basic bicycle tricks.

Bicycles Bring World Peace

Here's another Reading Rainbow book for ya. While Levar Burton used this particular title as a springboard for discussing the history of the wheel, I'm going to use it to illustrate a simple recipe for world peace. First, show up uninvited to a foreign school shortly after the conclusion of a major war. Second, try not to scare the living daylights out of everyone present by asking to ride the school principal's bike. (They ride bikes a lot in Japan). Third, show off like crazy by doing insane bike stunts. If you follow those three steps with every single country, we will see total world peace from here on. Now go and learn some bicycle tricks.

A Wonderful Read-Aloud

My daughter and I loved this book. Not only is it a great way to show that different cultures like to do the same things but it is culturally sound. This book is also a "Reading Rainbow" (PBS Series) book. I also read this book to a bunch of Cub Scouts who were ready to take their "Bicycle Saftey" test and they really enjoyed it. What an enjoyable read.

A charming vignette. . .

Soon after World War II, in occupied Japan, two American soldiers (we don't learn why they're there or where they're headed) walk onto a Japanese school yard, and one of them delights the assembled students with bicycle-riding tricks. A charming vignette of the personal interaction between a pair of young men and a group of children, strangers with different languages and from different cultures, whose paths cross briefly and will never cross again. Doubly charming to me because my father, a young soldier [though not the man depicted], was there at the time, and could ride the bicycle backwards better than anyone I've ever met.