The Bicycle: How an Act of Kindness Changed a Young Refugee's Life by Patricia McCormick

The Bicycle: How an Act of Kindness Changed a Young Refugee's Life Reviews

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  Denise Del gianni

  The Bicycle is about the refugee story of one of the author’s. Mevan is a young Kurdish refugee who moves from country to country while her family waits to be welcomed into a country that will embrace them. Timely. Poignant. This is an excellent book for children to learn about the refugee experience through the eyes of a child, to recognize what is unkind vs. what is uplifting, to see the value in empathy, and to make the connection that humans are all similar in our needs. As a third grade teacher I recommend this book for grades 2-3 and think it will be helpful in teaching about the border conflict in an age-appropriate manner during the 2024 presidential election cycle. The illustrations, Epilogue and Author’s Note with additional educational information takes this book to 5 stars.
• 
  Ellee Nichols

  Copyright date: 2024
  Star rating: 5
  Award: N/A
  Genre: Nonfiction picture book
  Summary w/ themes: This book is about a girl that had to flee and become a refugee because her home country wasn't safe anymore. Along her journey, one of the people that works where she lives gives her a bike, and she is able to feel like a kid again. This book has a theme of kindness and community.
  Use for future classroom: This would be a great book to read aloud about immigration
  Thoughts of book: This is a beautiful book, from the story to the illustrations. I loved the message it shares with the world.
  
• 
  Rita

  2024. Carolyn recommends.
  
  '(Picture-book memoir. 5-9)'
  'As Mevan and her parents make an arduous voyage from Kurdistan to Turkey to Azerbaijan to Russia, she feels increasingly small. The art’s muted, earthy palette adeptly captures their alienation while also highlighting the nature (or lack thereof) in their surroundings. After two years in Russia, the family goes to the “green and bright” Netherlands, where a kind handyman named Egbert gives Mevan a bicycle. ' Years later they reconnect.
• 
  Caroline

  Based on a true, heartwarming, viral story of a young Kurdish refugee who is forced to leave her home. In Netherlands, while waiting for a place to go, a kind landlord gifts Mevan a bicycle. Years later, after moving to America, Mevan travels back to Kurdistan and Netherlands where she reconnects with the kind man who "made her feel 100 feet tall". This is an uplifting story with a valuable author's note in the back. Great illustrations. This empathy-building picture book is a real treat.
• 
  Patricia Bell

  I think my students would enjoy this book during our celebration of the Essential Eight character trait of kindness. It might also work with tolerance and courage.