Barton, Byron. My Bike. Byron Barton, Illus. Picture Book. Greenwillow, 04/2015. [34]p. $16.99. 978-0-06-233699-6. OUTSTANDING. GRADES TOD-PRE.
Tom rides his bike to work, past cars, trucks, and even monkeys and elephants, before donning clown makeup to ride a unicycle in the circus. With a toddler-friendly style and a straightforward storytelling structure similar to his previous books, My Car (2001) and My Bus (2014), Barton uses few words, bright colors, and bold images to tell this transportation-themed story. His impressively simple digital illustrations show faces without fussy details—the dot eyes and line mouths are just enough to make it easy to recognize expressions. Barton fills each page of the book with bold, appealing images that invite preschoolers to interact with and identify what they see: crowds of diverse people, roads full of cars and buses, and the parts of a bicycle. The large font, short sentence structure, clear images, and wonderfully fun subject make this an ideal storytime choice.
Lauren Snell, Mill Valley Public Library