#Booky100Keepers Day 75: "Cycle City" by Alison Farrell (Chronicle Children's Books)

Joy. That's what you want to see in a children's picture book. Sheer joy. A world that you would dearly love to live in yourself - in fact a great many of our #Booky100Keepers feature book worlds we'd gladly up sticks and move into lock stock and barrell.

"Cycle City" by Alison Farrell is one such book, featuring an incredible animal-filled city where no cars exist, and where the inhabitants live in harmony, tootling around on a weird and wonderful selection of bikes.

There's Mrs Rabbit and her huge box bike filled with all her little bunnies. There's a flower-selling buffalo on his cart bike, brightening up everyone's days with his flowery wares. Then there's our fave, a silent moggy who appears to be riding a bike in the shape of a cupcake, a lone candle propped on her head to light the way.

Busy books such as this have been a real draw for us in the years of book blogging, and Alison's book echoes fabulous stuff by the likes of Richard Scarry.

Kids (even grumpy 12 year olds) get drawn into the details, as Cycle City's parade committee seek out folk to invite to the grand cycle parade, tootling around on their strange circular 'conference table' bike...


The mayor (a rather dapper snail) soon finds all that pedalling a bit tiring, but there's a special bike just for him too!

The book closes out with one of the best spreads, a riotous colourful joyful scene indeed...


(we love the fact that the gelato-selling polar bear doesn't stop selling his wares for the entire book, even right at the end!)

This is one of those magical picture books that most adults might gloss over, but tinies will absolutely adore. We re-read it again one last time for the purposes of this review and realised why it's a keeper. It's just perfect.

Original Review Link: 

ReadItDaddy's First Picture Book of the Week - Week Ending 6th April 2018 - "Cycle City" by Alison Farrell (Chronicle Children's Books)