Wild Blue

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Author(s)

Dashka Slater

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Laura Hughes

Publisher

Candlewick Press

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

February 14, 2023

ISBN

978-1536215670

Buy This Book

In a charming take on a milestone moment, a young girl summons a cowpoke’s courage to tame her intimidating new bicycle.

Kayla loves riding her pink pony, a three-wheeled bike, up and down the street, day after day. But then Daddy announces that it’s time for a big-kid bike, one with just two wheels. At the store, Kayla selects her mount, but when she tries to ride it, she is thrown—again and again. Can she tame this intimidating set of wheels? Or is the new blue bike just too wild? Tender and relatable, Wild Blue captures the emotions of moving up in the world through an endearing character with a boundless imagination. Despite falls, bumps, and bruises, Kayla takes her time learning the ropes, until she finally has the confidence to let go of her fear, climb back on, and ride again. Her story will delight and reassure readers transitioning from trikes or training wheels and inspire them to manage setbacks with patience and creativity.

Editor review

1 review

Learning to ride a bike can be tough!

March 11, 2023

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Kayla loves riding her pink bicyle with training wheels outside for hours, but when her father realizes the bike is too small for her, it's time for a new one! Likening the bicycles to horses, they go to a bike shop and pick out a new one, which she names Wild Blue. It's a tough horse to break, and Kayla is thrown from the bike often. Despite small injuries, Kayla gets back on the bike in order to tame the wild beast. Heading to the park, Kayla tries riding on more open spaces, and soon is able to ride Wild Blue without incident. Her father claims she has tamed her bike, but she maintains that it is still wild, just like her.

Good Points

My own children struggled with riding bikes, and didn't get the hang of riding without training wheels until well after first grade even though we biked a lot. I've never seen a book that addressed the difficulty of learning to balance on a bicycle. This would have been very useful! Since one of my daughters was a big fan of Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, the horse analogies would have been perfect, and I love fostering anything that fosters imagination.

Hughes' impressionistic illustrations gives a day dreamy quality to the book which fits right in with Kayla's imagining of her blue "horse" that needs time and care to be ridden safely. The city neighborhood and park have just enough detail to give us a sense of place, but not too much so as to distract from Kayla and her steed. The blue and green color palette and sense of motion on the page is perfect as the two gallop around.

I feel like I need to investigate bike books now and create a collection. I'd especially like to see ones that specifically address the importance of wearing a helmet. It's great that Kayla always has one on. Wild Blue will be on my list with Ferrari's I Like My Bike and Miller and Wheeler's Wherever You Go, which are a bit more literary than branded books like Franklin Rides a Bike, the Berenstain's Bears' The Bike Lesson, or Friedman's Daniel Learns to Ride a Bike (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood).