The Best Bike Ride Ever

Bonnie O’Boy is so excited about her new pink polka-dotted bike that she hops on without asking how to use the brakes. As a result, she goes “all willy-nilly. In fact, she had willy-nillied herself right down the hill.” From there, it’s a long, strange trip, one that includes riding up to the top of the Statue of Liberty, down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and through a scene straight out of Jurassic Park (astute readers will notice that all these adventures and landmarks correspond to real, less intimidating things in Bonnie’s backyard). Through it all, “Bonnie O’Boy could not stop,” but does she panic? Hardly. “Not stopping was thrilling. Not stopping was breathtaking. Not stopping was dangerous.” Although the ending is a letdown given the giddy good times that precede it, Wright’s (Bandits) naïf, acrylic-on-canvas drawings and Proimos’s (Todd’s TV) wry reportorial style strike the right notes of silliness and exhilarating independence. Bonnie’s wide-mouth grin should be an inspiration and impetus to anyone contemplating putting away the training wheels. Ages 3–5. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (June)