One day down on the farm, Duck got a wild idea. ?I bet I couldride a bike,? he thought. He waddled over to where a boy had parkedhis bike, and climbed on, and began to ride. At first he rodeslowly and he wobbled a lot, but it was fun! Duck rides past Sheep,Horse, and all the other barnyard animals? and when a group of kidsride by on their bikes, leaving them to go into the farmhouse ? allof the animals get to ride bikes, just like Duck!
From Publishers Weekly
Shannon serves up a sunny blend of humor and action in thisdelightful tale of a Duck who spies a red bicycle one day and gets"a wild idea." Sure enough, in no time flat, he's tooling aroundthe farmyard. A succession of his barnyard friends greet himpolitely enough, but their private responses range from scornful("That's the silliest thing I've ever seen," from Cow) to boastful("You're still not as fast as me," from Horse) to wistful ("I wishI could ride a bike just like Duck," from Mouse). Then a herd ofkids rides down the road in a blur of dust; they park their bikesand head indoors. A wordless spread records the sublime moment whenthe animals all gather with identical wide-eyed looks and slysmiles. Readers can almost see what they're thinking, and sureenough, the next spread shows them all zipping around on bikes,with Duck in the lead. Shannon makes the most of awkward appendageson wheels and handlebars, and deftly balances clean compositionswith just the right amount of detail. Varying perspectivesincluding the chicken's-eye-view of Duck's bike wheel looming largeprovide plenty of good-natured dash. Add to all this the abundantopportunity for youngsters to chime in with barnyard responses("M-o-o-o"; "Cluck! Cluck!"), and the result is one swellread-aloud, packed with freewheeling fun. Ages 3-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Ages 3-6. One day, Duck gets anidea: "I bet I could ride a bike." And as thought is father toaction, he is soon teetering around the farm on a bicycle. He ridespast the animals, each with its own thoughts about bike riding: thecow thinks it's silly; the sheep is sure Duck will hurt himself;Dog considers it a neat trick; the cat can't be bothered. On a morepersonal note, the horse is sure he's faster than the bike, and thegoat would like to eat it. Then some kids park their bikes near thehouse, and the animals suddenly become a lot more interested inbike riding: they all jump on and take a spin around the yard. Thedouble-page spread of the cow, pig, horse, et al., pedaling away(some looking particularly fetching in helmets) is worth the priceof the book. In fact, this whole bright book is tons of fun. Theoversize format nicely accommodates Shannon's sly art, which fillsup the pages. Each animal has a distinctive expression that can beeasily seen by kids in the back row at story hour--the perfectplace to share this exuberant piece. Ilene Cooper
Copyright ? American Library Association. All rightsreserved
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2--When Duck finds an unattendedbike, he is sure that he can ride it. And so he does, a bit wobblyat first, but then with increasing confidence until he is soaringwith no "hands." As he passes each barnyard animal, they return hisgreeting but have secret thoughts of their own, ranging from scornto envy. When some children leave their bikes by the house, itisn't hard to guess what the animals will do. This delightful storywill have youngsters chiming in on the repeated phrases andpredicting, in no time, what will happen next, and the many animalsounds provide ample opportunities for role-playing. Shannon'sbrightly colored spreads are filled with humor. There are deliciousclose-ups of the animals as Duck pedals by them. Cow's huge head,turned in amazement toward his friend, fills a page. Catnonchalantly grooms herself with an "I can't be bothered attitude"as Duck rides on. The animals' antics on the bikes are hilarious.Little Chicken rides a tricycle, the Pigs sport a bicycle built fortwo, Goat can't resist eating the basket as he rides, and tinyMouse hitches a lift on Duck's handlebars. That would be grandfinale enough, but then Duck spies a tractor-. For a look atanother unconventional barnyard adventure, pair this charmingoffering with Paul B. Johnson's The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Down(Orchard, 1993).
Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
