This book The Wobbly Bike by debut author Darren McCallum and 'old hand' Craig Smith is a joy and will certainly make you smile. It is fun and very pertinent to this age group.
So often the parents at school will say 'my child can't ride a bike. When will he learn?' in a manner that implies that it is the school's job to teach him, and then they add 'we live in a unit/ apartment'.
I think this is sad because it means that this child isn't outdoors at the park often or that his parents don't see it as their job to make time to ensure he does learn. Learning to ride a bike is about time, practice, perseverance, risk taking, adult belief and investment in their child, but so rewarding when a child shouts 'I can do it!'
Linked displays:
1. books about learning to ride bicycles
2. books set in the Northern Territory and /or Darwin and books by authors who live in the Northern Territory
3. books about Australian birds
4. other books by Craig Smith
Display 1: Learning to Ride a Bike
The library often has a display about bikes. The preschoolers are very keen to borrow books about bike riding. If you are putting together a display, these are popular
• Don't Let Go! by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross (this would make a perfect companion text)
• Don't Let Go, Dad! by Mark Wilson
• Hello, Bicycle! by Ella Boyd and Taming a big-kid bike
• Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle by Chris Learning to Ride a Bike
• Two Wheels by David Gibb and Brizida Magro (this would make a perfect companion text)
• Let's Ride a Bike by Ruth Walton
• I Love My Bike by Simon Mole and Sam Usher
• Off We Go! by Will Hillenbrand
• Logan's Big Move by Logan Martin, Jess Black and Shane McG
• Frank and Bert: the One Where Bert Learns to Ride a Bike by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros
• The Bike Lesson by Stan and Jan Berenstain
• Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
• Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike by Dashka Slater and Laura Hughes
• Bike on Bear by Cynthia Liu Kristyna Litten
Display 2: Books set in the Northern Territory
• Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo by Alison Lester
• To the Top End by Roland Harvey
• My Home in Kakadu by Jane Christophersen
• Dry to Dry: the Seasons of Kakadu by Pamela Freeman and Liz Anelli
• Walking the Country in Kakadu by Diane Lucas, Ben Tyler and Emma Long
• Collecting Colour by Kylie Dunstan
• Big Rain Coming by Katrina Germein
• Too Many Cheeky Dogs by Joanna Bell and Dion Beasley
• Aunty's Wedding by Miranda Tapsell and Samantha Fry
• Look See, Look at Me! by Leonie Norrington and Dee Huxley
• Cyclone by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
Leonie Norrington, Joanna Bell, Samantha Fry, Rosemary Sullivan, Katrina Germein and Kylie Dunstan have all lived in the Northern Territory at some time.
Display 3: Books about Australian Birds
The teaching notes for the book suggests:
• Have your class work in groups to research different species of birds in Australia. What do they look like? Where do they live? How many birds illustrated in the story can they identify?
Display of books like these would help with this:
Coming in August from CSIRO
Display 4 Books illustrated by Craig Smith.
The library has more than 100 books illustrated by Craig Smith. Time to revisit these two humorous tales:
And these two more serious tales:
