• Age: 4 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 4 to 7

A refugee boy’s determination to ride a bicycle leads to an unexpected friendship.

Joseph wants only one thing: to ride a bike. In the refugee camp where he lives, Joseph helps one of the older boys fix his bike, but he’s too small to ride it.

Joseph and his mother travel to America, where everything is strange and new. One day, he spots a red bike that seems just right for him! It belongs to a girl with a whoosh of curly hair.

When Whoosh crashes her bike, Joseph offers to fix it. His big chance has finally come, except that Joseph doesn’t know how to ride! He crashes a few times, picks himself up, and tries again, until suddenly, with a shout of triumph, he’s riding the bike.

Inspired by the author’s interviews with refugee children from Sudan, this gentle story evokes the experience of a new immigrant. Vibrantly colorful paintings bring a warm and humorous portrait of friendship and diversity to life.

TERRY FARISH is an author of picture books and young adult novels, many influenced by her trip to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya and work with the Red Cross in Vietnam. The Good Braider won the New Hampshire Literary Award and the Lupine Award. It was also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a School Library Journal Best Book. Joseph's Big Ride, illustrated by Ken Daley, received a Skipping Stones Honor, and The Cat Who Liked Potato Soup, illustrated by Barry Root, won a Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books Blue Ribbon. Terry lives in Kittery, Maine.

Terry Farish's profile page

KEN DALEY est né à Cambridge, en Ontario, de parents ayant immigré de la Dominique, dans les Antilles. Ken est diplômé honoraire de la Art Centre of Central Technical School et diplômé en technologie architecturale du Humber College de Toronto. Il a exposé ses œuvres au Canada, aux États-Unis et dans les Caraïbes, et son travail figure dans de nombreuses collections privées.

KEN DALEY was born in Cambridge, Ontario to parents who emigrated from Dominica, West Indies. Ken is an honorary graduate from the Art Centre of Central Technical School as well as an architectural technology graduate from Humber College in Toronto. He has exhibited his artwork within Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, and his work can be found in numerous private collections. Ken’s previous books include Joseph’s Big Ride, Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings and Jayden’s Impossible Garden.To learn more about Ken, visit: https://www.kendaleyart.com.

Ken Daley's profile page

• Long-listed, Recommended Reads, TD Summer Reading Club
• Top Ten Best Bet, Ontario Library Association
• Joint winner, Skipping Stones Honor Book
• Joint winner, Foreword Indies Book Awards
• Short-listed, Book of the Year Award finalist, Foreword Reviews
• Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred selection, Canadian Children’s Book Centre

“The big, bold illustrations help tell this wonderful story about making friends in a new country.” —National Education Association, 10/03/17

National Education Association