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The Patchwork Bike Paperback – Picture Book, April 13, 2021

by Maxine Beneba Clarke (Author), Van Thanh Rudd (Illustrator)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 57 ratings
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It has a bent bucket seat, bashed tin-can handlebars, and wood-cut wheels — and riding the patchwork bike that you and your crazy brothers made is the best fun in the whole village.

When you live in a village at the edge of the no-go desert, you need to make your own fun. That's when you and your brothers get inventive and build a bike from scratch, using everyday items like an old milk pot (maybe Mum is still using it, maybe not) and a used flour sack. You can even make a license plate from bark if you want. The end result is a spectacular bike, perfect for whooping and laughing as you bumpetty bump over sand hills, past your fed-up mum and right through your mud-for-walls home. A joyous story by multi-award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke, beautifully illustrated by street artist Van Thanh Rudd.
Previous page
  1. Reading age
    6 - 9 years
  2. Print length
    40 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    1 - 4
  5. Dimensions
    9.25 x 0.17 x 12.13 inches
  6. Publisher
    Candlewick
  7. Publication date
    April 13, 2021
  8. ISBN-10
    1536217417
  9. ISBN-13
    978-1536217414
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Clarke’s poetically compressed language hurtles joyfully along, while Rudd’s illustrations, made on cardboard boxes with spirited swaths of paint, burst with irrepressible life. Dreaming and building, we see, go hand in hand no matter where you live.
—The New York Times Book Review

The dark, bright, and desert hues create a blazing-hot world readers can almost step right into. Showcasing the fun to be had in a spare world, this book is just what many of us need right now.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

In her picture book debut, Clarke’s lines sing with sound and rhythm, evoking the “shicketty shake” sound of the bike on sand hills. Street artist Rudd’s textured paint-and-cardboard collages create a strong sense of a place (the blaze and shadow of the desert) and the people who live there...Without minimizing the clear references to economic and racial struggle, the words and images in this snapshot story pulse with resourceful ingenuity, joyful exuberance, and layered meanings.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

There are small mysteries and deep shadows, figurative as well as literal, that stretch among Rudd’s provocative paint-on-corrugated packing box illustrations in this Australian import...With every visual detail a poignant counterpoint to the simple storyline, there are depths here for older children to plumb.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

The story by itself is superb, but the artwork elevates it further. Rudd’s street art approach is raw yet refined as nearly every brushstroke is visible on the repurposed cardboard backgrounds. Much like Javaka Steptoe’s Radiant Child or Jane Yolen’s What To Do with a Box, the format shows the incredible creativity of young minds combined with the constraints of poverty...An excellent story and conversation starter.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Clarke’s spare, mellifluous language dances across the pages, full of vivid imagery and hyphenated turns of poetry (“out in the no-go desert, under the stretching-out sky”), all of it hand- lettered on Rudd’s rough, tactile paintings...These illustration choices reflect the book’s very theme—exposing the harsh reality of life that some people face while acknowledging the resilience that comes from homemade joy.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

The notes at the end of the book from both the author and illustrator add context and take the reader outside the story into broader themes of the world beyond, including the Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street movements, making this simple yet joyous picture book a potential springboard for discussion, inquiry, and research. Told in free verse from the perspective of a young female narrator, this story speaks to the spirit of children, play, and makers everywhere.
—School Library Connection

Words hum with catchy musicality on edgy acrylic-on-cardboard art that parallels the bouncy story line and makes powerful political points as well...Neither heavy-handed nor Pollyanna, this timely book honors the power of imagination to discover possibility amid hardship.
—San Francisco Chronicle

This winning book will make a great read-aloud for primary grades and provides great material for discussions about creativity, the power of play and imagination, and how to best be happy with what you already have.
—New York Journal of Books

The vivid rhythms of Clark's buoyant prose...are perfectly matched by the bold lines and vivid splashes of color of street artist Van Thanh Rudd's marvelous illustrations in this delightful, exuberant, entirely original picture book.
—Buffalo News

It’s so incredibly beautiful and the art is magnificent.
—A Fuse #8 Production (blog)

Vibrant, energetic, and wildly original! Who wouldn’t love those imaginative kids . . . and their weary mom?
—The Booklist Reader

Kids having fun. Being silly. Being adventurous. Having the times of their lives. This book exudes that very joy. It alludes to police brutality, economic disparities, and the Black Lives Matter movement while at the same time showing children having a great time thanks to their own devices.
—A Fuse #8 Production (blog)

Bold, beautiful acrylic paintings atop recycled cardboard. This is the sort of book that wows you from the front cover on.
—100 Scope Notes (blog)

About the Author

Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian writer and slam poet champion of Afro-Caribbean descent. In 2015, she was named one of Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Novelists of the year. She lives in Australia.

Van Thanh Rudd is an Australian street artist and activist who studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, RMIT University, and Griffith University. The Patchwork Bike is his first picture book. He lives in Melbourne with his family.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick (April 13, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1536217417
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1536217414
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 6 - 9 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 1 - 4
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.25 x 0.17 x 12.13 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 57 ratings

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
57 global ratings
The art is good, I'm sure it's readable for kids, but the subtext conflicts me
2 Stars
The art is good, I'm sure it's readable for kids, but the subtext conflicts me
I'm not a parent or a child, I'm a 20 something year old black guy studying children's books for a personal project. I didn't purchase the book, I checked out this book at the library without any expectations besides, " Kid with sunglasses and a hand made bike" And what I read was disappointing. I can't believe that I have to side with the 1 star reviews, but this book is very tone deaf. I get what the writer/artist were going for, but if you wanna make a story about black self love and how black lives matter, maybe use a premise that's bigger than just "Kids making a ruckus with their bike". I was close to Trayvon Martin's age when he died, and this made me go in my head "What the heck does this have to do with that stuff?" but I didn't say "heck" or "stuff". The subtext isn't expanded upon, and it's so jarring and out of place with the rest of the story that it comes off as insincere and pandering. I'm sure kids won't get it, unless their parents have explained to them what it's about, so if you're a parent all about that jazz, kudos to you. But to anyone else, I'm not sure you'll be happy. Once again, they should've made a book relating to deeper stuff for kids. I wanted a fun book for kids about riding a bike, and I got some of that, but with a subtext that's half baked and borderline inappropriate.
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Top reviews from the United States

Tadder
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
I love this for my 2nd grade literacy center.
One person found this helpful
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Lauren H. Kerstein
5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Slice-Of-Life Book
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is an absolutely beautiful book!
3 people found this helpful
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MRLit
5.0 out of 5 stars A thought provoking book about making the best of a situation.
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2021
A family of boys lives in a village in a mud-for-wall home beside the no-go desert. When these boys want to have fun they have to make their own. First they make a sand hill to slide on; there is much laughing and shrieking! They jump off the Fiori tree, still laughing. Then they decide to do the best thing to do in the village, make their own bike! It has a beautiful bucket seat and branch handlebars. The bike “shicketty shakes” over the sand hill. They add bashed in tin cans for wheels, and they use a milk pot for a bell. This “bumpetty bump” bike can be seen gliding right through the mud-for-walls home right past their fed-up Mom. The illustrator used pages that looked like cardboard and mud to fill the pages of this book. The limited sketches on each page were beautiful and demonstrated the lack of materials this village has at their fingertips.
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John Rogers Clark IV
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely illustrations introduce kids to a slice from elsewhere
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2018
Simple, easy to follow text accompanies great illustrations that are designed to look like they were drawn on corrugated cardboard. They give the story an authentic feeling, since it's set in a rural village that could easily be in Africa or Australia. Three brothers take young readers along as they enjoy the fun and freedom of riding a bike assembled from such varied components as wooden wheels, a bark license plate, tin cans and their mother's milk pot. Colloquial words used to describe the sounds and moves made while enjoying the bike, add to the ethnic flavor. The note by the author and another by the illustrator in the back are extremely useful in helping to understand the message and intent of the book. They should be shared by teachers and parents when the book is read. Overall, it's a simple, yet beautiful slice of life tale that will introduce young children to a different reality, that also points out how universal having fun with just a little can be.
6 people found this helpful
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Denise
3.0 out of 5 stars Good.....Black Lives Matter is mentioned in the story content.
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2019
Verified Purchase
Cute book.
Did not know that the book would capture some of the "Black Lives Matter" reflection.
Story would of been just as good without the two pages that had a illustration to BLM.
One person found this helpful
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Annette P
5.0 out of 5 stars A zestful celebration of making your own fun
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2019
Our family used to live in sub-Saharan Africa, and I love the way this book captures my memory of the landscape, the clothing, and the resourcefulness that was all around us. It's a good read-aloud, with spare, sparkling language, and a structure that is easy to follow. Such a zestful celebration of making your own fun. I had a great conversation with a five year old and a two year old about the art--interesting techniques and materials that kids immediately recognize.
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Deborah Freedman
5.0 out of 5 stars Resourceful Joy
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2019
I love this book every which way — the words ("the no-go desert under the stretching-out sky", the bike that "shikety shakes" and "winketty wonks"), the paint-on-corrugated cardboard illustrations, the sheer joy of it—

And be sure to read the author's and illustrator's notes at the end.
3 people found this helpful
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pamela greenough
3.0 out of 5 stars Wouldnt recommend it for children
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018
Verified Purchase
I felt it was hyped up online as compare to the content. Wouldnt recommend it for children. Nice coffee table book for adult conversation. To boring for a child
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

kiwibiwi
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2018
Verified Purchase
Great illustrations and characters. It captures the sense of fun I used to have as a child by using my imagination in a not particulary wealthy background. The young 5 year old London girl I gave it too shrieked in glee as she read it.
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GeeBeeNSW
5.0 out of 5 stars I love it the best
Reviewed in Australia on August 22, 2021
Verified Purchase
I love it the best. I love Elsa but I love this better. It makes me feel happy and playful.
-Edie, 4
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