Bicycle Madness

by Jane Kurtz, Beth Peck (Illustrations)

A compelling story about the importance of standing up for what is right

"I was almost home when I saw our new next-door neighbor, Miss Frances Willard, standing in front of her house. Oddly enough, she was holding on to a safety-bicycle!"

Lillie is having a difficult year. She's still struggling with her mother's recent death, and now her father has moved the family to the other side of town. But when Frances Willard-Lillie's new neighbor-decides to learn how to ride a bicycle, Lillie finds promising change all around her.

Even though her father disapproves of their progressive neighbor, Lillie and Miss Frances soon become friends. Miss Frances is involved in more than taming a wild bike, however; she is part of Susan B. Anthony's circle, fighting for the right for women to vote, as well as child-labor laws and better conditions for workers. Together, Lillie and Miss Frances take on their beasts-a bike and a daunting spelling bee-and find the will to dust themselves off, get back up, and ride for all they're worth.

Set in the late 1800s, this engaging novel skillfully blends fine storytelling with women's history.

Genres: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Jane Kurtz was born in Portland, Oregon, but when she was two years old, her parents moved to Ethiopia. Jane grew up in Maji, a small town in the southwest corner of the country.
Since there were no televisions, radios, or movies, her memories are of climbing mountains, wading in rivers by the waterfalls, listening to stories, and making up her own stories, which she and her sisters acted out for days at a time.


That love of nature has recently inspired her to write books about loving the Earth--such as WHAT DO THEY DO WITH ALL THAT POO? and PLANET JUPITER.

Jane has published more than 40 books, fiction, nonfiction, picture books, novels for young readers, and ready-to-reads. Some are based on her childhood in Ethiopia. Some draw on her own children, such as ANNA WAS HERE, a novel for young readers that asks life's big questions about pain and disaster--and offers a few puny answers.

Since her childhood in Ethiopia, Jane has lived in Illinois, Colorado, North Dakota, Kansas and--now--back in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Molly Vaughan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read to page 50…. Couldn’t get into it.

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story for introducing upper elementary to some important social issues. Students will get a look at how schools operated back in the 1800s, learn about child labor, the women suffragette movement, and probably chafe themselves at the way girls were restricted by societal norms.
The dialogue felt old and I definitely loved the reference to Gladys the bicycle because I am a huge Flavia de Luce fan.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun little piece of history: Frances Willard learns to ride a bike. Lillie learns a lot about growing up. It could have been trite and cloying. Instead, Lillie is adorable--and this book features some of the best 19th century slang I've read in quite some time.

[Sarah Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

All that time in Evanston, and I never learned what an amazing person Frances Willard was! Terrific early reader that I would have absolutely adored as a kid. Lillie & Ms. Willard are great characters and the short story is deeply satisfying.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kaisa and I loved this light story set during the fight for temperance and women's suffrage (that's the vote, right?). :)

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really charming historical fiction about Francis Willard, suffragette, temperance movement leader, and bicyclist. I loved getting to know Francis through the eyes of her young neighbor.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knew that women riding bicycles would be considered scandalous?