{"id":31902,"date":"2018-12-18T21:23:47","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T01:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=31902"},"modified":"2018-12-20T13:37:38","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T17:37:38","slug":"review-of-a-bike-like-sergios-by-maribeth-boelts-illustrated-by-noah-z-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=31902","title":{"rendered":"Review of A Bike Like Sergio’s, by Maribeth Boelts, illustrated by Noah Z. Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A Bike Like Sergio\u2019s<\/em><\/p>\n

by Maribeth Boelts
\nillustrated by Noah Z. Jones<\/p>\n

Candlewick Press, 2016. 36 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Every kid except Ruben has a bike. His best friend Sergio tells him to ask for one for his birthday, forgetting there\u2019s a difference between their birthdays.<\/p>\n

At the grocery store, Sergio buys a pack of football cards, and Ruben buys bread for his mother. Then a dollar falls out of a lady\u2019s purse. Sergio doesn\u2019t run after her because it\u2019s just a dollar. But when he gets home, he discovers it\u2019s actually a hundred-dollar bill. Which is enough money to buy a bike.<\/p>\n

So \u2013 it\u2019s a story about making the hard decision to give back found money. It\u2019s very well done, showing the range of emotions \u2013 dreaming about the bike, but not looking at his parents. He watches his mother cross things off her shopping list because they can\u2019t afford them. There\u2019s a part where he thinks the money is gone, and all the emotions that brings.<\/p>\n

When he finally gets up the nerve to give the money back, I like that the woman doesn\u2019t offer to buy him a prize. She thanks him and tells him he\u2019s blessed her.<\/p>\n

When Ruben tells his parents the whole story, they tell him they\u2019re so proud. And Ruben is proud of himself, too.<\/p>\n

This book has a message \u2013 but the message is palatable because it tells a good story, a story about a boy who feels real and whose reactions are true to life. I do hope Ruben gets a bike some day! And for kids who\u2019ve never had to do without, this book may be eye-opening, too.<\/p>\n

candlewick.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/bike_like_sergios.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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