In this unique nonfiction picture book, the main character is a bicycle that starts its life like so many bicycles in North America, being owned and ridden by a young boy. The boy, Leo, treasures his bicycle so much he gives it a name — Big Red. But eventually Leo outgrows Big Red, and this is where the bicycle’s story takes a turn from the everyday, because Leo decides to donate it to an organization that ships bicycles to Africa. Big Red is sent to Burkina Faso, in West Africa, where it finds a home with Alisetta, who uses it to gain quicker access to her family’s sorghum field and to the market. Then, over time, it finds its way to a young woman named Haridata, who has a new purpose for the bicycle — renamed Le Grand Rouge — delivering medications and bringing sick people to the hospital.#This book makes an excellent choice for cultural studies classes; author Jude Isabella has provided several terrific suggestions in the back of the book for projects large and small, while a map shows the distance the bicycle traveled across the Atlantic Ocean. Award-winning illustrator Simone Shin’s digitally composed artwork includes evocative depictions of Alisetta’s and Haridata’s communities in rural Africa, creating vivid comparisons between Leo’s life and their lives. Youngsters will learn how different the world is for those who rely on bicycles as a mode of transportation, and how one ordinary bicycle — and a child’s desire to make a difference — can change lives across the world. This book also offers an excellent opportunity for expanding character education lessons on caring, compassion and empathy to include the wider world.
Katika kitabu hiki cha picha cha kipekee, mhusika mkuu ni baiskeli ambayo huanza maisha yake kama baiskeli nyingi huko Amerika Kaskazini, inayomilikiwa na kuendeshwa na mvulana mdogo. Mvulana huyo, Leo, anapenda sana baiskeli yake hivi kwamba anaipa jina <unk> Big Red. Leo anaendelea na maisha yake ya kawaida, lakini kwa sababu ya kuamua kuachana na familia yake, Leo anaamua kuachana na familia yake. Big Red anatumwa Burkina Faso, Afrika Magharibi, ambapo anapata nyumbani na Alyssa, ambaye anatumia kupata upatikanaji wa haraka wa shamba la familia yake la sorghum na soko. "Kisha, baada ya muda, inapata njia yake kwa mwanamke mchanga aitwaye Haridata, ambaye ana kusudi jipya kwa baiskeli hiyo - jina lake lilibadilishwa kuwa ""Le Grand Rouge"" - kutoa dawa na kuleta wagonjwa hospitalini. # Kitabu hiki hufanya chaguo bora kwa madarasa ya masomo ya kitamaduni; mwandishi Jude Isabella ametoa mapendekezo kadhaa ya kushangaza nyuma ya kitabu kwa miradi mikubwa na ndogo, wakati ramani inaonyesha umbali baiskeli ilisafiri katika Bahari ya Atlantiki." Mchoraji wa picha Simone Shin, ambaye ameshinda tuzo, ana mchoro wa dijiti unaoonyesha jamii za Alyssa na Haridata katika maeneo ya mashambani ya Afrika, na kuunda kulinganisha kati ya maisha ya Leo na maisha yao. Vijana watajifunza jinsi ulimwengu ulivyo tofauti kwa wale wanaotegemea baiskeli kama njia ya usafiri, na jinsi baiskeli moja ya kawaida - na hamu ya mtoto kufanya tofauti - inaweza kubadilisha maisha ulimwenguni kote. Kitabu hiki pia hutoa fursa nzuri ya kupanua masomo ya elimu ya tabia juu ya kujali, huruma na hisia-mwenzi ili kujumuisha ulimwengu pana.