The Magic Bicycle Author:Berlie Doherty, Christian Birmingham (illustrator) After receiving a bicycle for a present, a boy discovers how difficult learning to ride can be. He's convinced that it will require magic, and magic is just what youngsters will encounter in this energetic, well-executed picture book. The boy's first-person perspective is consistently maintained, perfectly capturing the childhood rite of passage... more » with all its anxiety and excitement. The boy will triumph; his determination flows from page to page. At first he succeeds only in his dreams, when he is pulled through the sky on his bike by a galloping white steed. In real life, he takes several headers--into the ditch and the flower bed. Then one day, with a push from his dad, he soars for real. It's impossible not to cheer for the boy with the gap-toothed grin when, in the final double-page spread, he and his bike stay the course. In his mind's eye, he has launched into the blue yonder, as if drawn by the magical reins of his white dream horse.-- Shelley Townsend-Hudson« less