Bug on a Bike

August 25, 2014
A polka-dot dog, ants on a log, an “athletic pickle,” a smiling nickel, a bear eating honey, and a skateboarding bunny are among the characters that join a festive cavalcade led by a helmet-wearing
ladybug on a bike. Each eagerly falls in line, following the leader up and down hills, across a river, and through a forest, wondering where they are headed: “Where are they riding/ on such a nice day?/ They asked the bug—/ But he just wouldn’t say.” Monroe’s (Cookie, the Walker) cumulative verse reveals a penchant for nonsense and non sequitur, while her wispy cartoons have a manic energy that matches the text’s quirkiness and showcases amusing transportation-related details: clams travel in a boat with wheels, a cat and a fez-wearing monkey ride along on roller skates, while the aforementioned pickle opts for a skateboard. The story’s energy continues full tilt after the travelers reach finally their surprise destination—the bug’s extravagant birthday party, which is chock-full of activities, snacks, and food. This boisterous outing works well as both a read-alone for beginning readers and a readaloud for story time. Ages 4–8.

August 15, 2014
A fun-filled and humorous picture book about friendship and sharing. When the bug on a bike stops by to pick up Lizard Mike, who is baking pies, readers will know they're in for a silly treat. The bug and Lizard Mike also invite Randy the Toad and scores of others during the course of the story (including carpenter clams in boats, an athletic pickle, a skateboarding bunny and, hilariously, ants on a log) to go on a biking, skateboarding and rolling journey to no-one-but-the-bug knows where. Monroe's rhyming text builds as she adds various critters to the journey. As entertaining as the text is, however, it is the illustrations that steal the show. Singularly absurd in their renditions (the lizard wears madras shorts, the snake dons a tubular blouse), the menagerie all nonetheless manage to look determined and earnest as they follow the bug on a bike-who himself has the endearing focused look of a toddler just learning to ride a two-wheeler. As the journey continues, tension builds-where the heck are they going? As it turns out, it is to the bug's birthday party. Further silliness ensues as the author details the cavorting (the clams eat "buckets of nachos," and the pickle break dances) at the party. Snappy and exuberant, this rhyming picture book is sure to be a hit in a read-aloud. (Picture book. 3-8)

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August 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-In this kooky cumulative tale, a ladybug on a bike announces, "It's time to go now." A motley parade of friends follows him as he pedals down roads and up hills and through a forest, despite not knowing "where we're going or when we'll be back." Monroe's quirky ink-and-watercolor cartoons showcase small vignettes of the many odd characters, including ants rolling on a log, an "athletic pickle" pumping iron, and a lizard baking pies in an amphibian-shaped kiln. The rhyming verse takes a long, circuitous route to get to the punch line: "Well look at the time./ We're not late, we're not tardy./ It's my Bug Birthday Party!" This rambling adventure sometimes spins its wheels.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
A helmeted ladybug rides a bike through a busy neighborhood populated by bugs and animals, an "athletic pickle," a nickel, etc., inviting them all to follow him to a mysterious locale. The rhyming text is pleasing, if somewhat forced at times. Young readers will delight in noticing the myriad details in the quirky, Richard Scarrylike watercolor and ink illustrations.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)