Big Bike Race - Hardcover

Grade 3-5?In eight fast-paced chapters, Bledsoe tells the story of an African American boy growing up with his practical grandmother and pest of a little sister in Washington, D.C. Since Ernie is turning 10 and is on his way to becoming someone, he feels it's more appropriate that he be called Ernest. Grandmother, who's holding the family together on a "no frills" budget since the children's parents were killed in a car accident, feels Ernie's dreams are merely "delusions of grandeur." Ernest longs for a racing bike for his birthday, but is disappointed and embarrassed by the "huge, clunky, yellow" secondhand one Grandmother is able to afford. Nevertheless, he rides it, and on his first outing meets Sonny, a racer who's never taken first place. Ernie is persistent in persuading Sonny to help him train for the prestigious Citywide Cup juniors race. He garners the respect of his friends as he doggedly trains, and at the same time builds Sonny's self-confidence. Bledsoe blends her intricate knowledge of training and racing into the story as she allows readers to see Ernie's high and low points, concentrating on his upbeat and determined moods. This book would pair well with Cheryl Zach's Benny and the Crazy Contest (Bradbury, 1991).?Christina Dorr, Calcium Primary School, NY
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