Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude

by Kevin O'Malley, Carol Heyer (Illustrator), Scott Goto (Illustrator)

When their teacher gives a joint storytelling assignment, a boy and a girl have different ideas of how their fairy tale should evolve. Can they agree on who will live happily ever after? With a cool motorcycle dude and a beautiful princess the possibilities are endless!

"Hilarious book, perfect for reading aloud." -Barnes & Noble

Once upon a time there was ... a princess who loved all her beautiful ponies, a cool muscle dude who rode an awesome motorcycle. But a giant came and started stealing them! The dude came to fight the ugly, smelly giant with his mighty sword. She turned gold into thread while she cried for Buttercup, her favorite pony. And he took the princess's gold thread for payment The end!

Wait a minute! That's not how it ends!

Oh no?

Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who had to tell a fairy tale to the class, but they couldn't agree on the story. Will everyone live happily ever after?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Humor, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

There is more than one author by this name on Goodreads.

Kevin O'Malley is the co-author and illustrator of the popular Miss Malarkey series as well as the award-winning Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude and the national bestseller Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
He also has visited hundreds and hundreds of schools.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the concept of not only alternating but duelling stories, and I liked the way the art played along. And I liked the way the brother and sister eventually find a path they both like. However, the story itself ended up being not that exciting: it was very heavily gender-stereotyped and both of the two narrations seemed flatter and less interesting than the stories real kids come up with.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, engaging idea. One young storyteller wants to create a typical princess fantasy complete with ponies and flowers and pretty dresses; the other wants a big, ugly monster and lots of battles! How will they tell the tale and arrive at "Happily ever after"?

While the gender stereotypes are probably true for most audiences, I found the fact that the girl was all about the pretty-happy-love-story and the boy totally into the "dude" stuff (gross monster, fighting, etc.) was a bit irritating. The illustrations also were a bit jarring as the glossy fairytale aspects seemed so out of harmony with the rather cartoon-ish looking kids popping across the page now and then. This will probably be a hit with kids, but I wish it didn't promote the gender stereotypes quite so much.

[J9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book my 6 yr old as well as my twin 3 yr olds loved. A solid reading level 1 book, this cute story keeps all ages engaged with the bright colorful pictures and cute story. We loved the differences between boys and girls and how they fought over their choice of story topic. It was also nice to see the conflict resolution at the end with a compromise. A great addition to any children's library.

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

A "He Said - She Said" tale for young readers, in which a boy and girl must tell a fairy-tale together for a class project, Kevin O'Malley's Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude would undoubtedly make an engaging story-hour selection. The humorous back and forth between the two narrators, who are each appalled by the other's narrative, will produce some giggles, and the bright colors will hold the attention.

Unfortunately, although I can see that this title will appeal to the age-group for which it is intended, I didn't really enjoy it myself. While the gender stereotypes - the girl is romantic, and obsessed with princesses; the boy is interested in muscle "dudes," and the gory details of battle - may ring true, they nevertheless grated. The illustrations, which switch back and forth between the lush, fairy-tale style of Carol Heyer, and the comic-book action style of Scott Goto, felt rather flat to me. All in all, this is one of those books that does what it sets out to do - it just doesn't do it for me.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the more entertaining books I had to read in college, I admit. I know - reinforcing gender stereotypes, but there is some circumventing, too. Also kind of genius to have two different people illustrate this.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious book - one of my kids' all-time favorites. Perfect for writing units, for perspective, for girl-boy tensions, and for all-out laughs.

[Rfrancik · Rating 5 out of 5]

When two students with vastly different interests are forced to write a story together they manage to collaborate while maintaining their individual styles.

This book looks like a typical fairy tale with the exception of the cover art. Open the front page and it quickly becomes apparent this is not your traditonal story. Two protagonists engaged in a school report partnership quickly engage the reader with their clear and satirical version of events. Boys who immediately groan when you show them the cover are quickly engaged and both boys and girls get the jokes. This is a fun book and won the Washington Children's Choice award in 2007.

Reviewed by:

Library Media Connection (August/September 2005)
This review is lukewarm at best pointing out that the girl changes from a passive to an active character while the boy doesn't change at all. While LMC may be correct when considering the deeper social message, students seem to appreciate the clear differences drawn between the way girls and boys look at events.

Publishers Weekly (February 21, 2005)

Both Library Media and Horn Books suggest this book is glib and sexist, Publishers Weekly points out the power of the bold colorful illustrations and the resulting cooperation that develops between protagonists to confound those expecting a traditional ending. Publishers Weekly suggests the book has a sophistication which could be used to lead a discussion on gender stereotyping and the benefits of teamwork. These reviews are interesting taken in their totality. They clearly point out how differently we as adults interpret humor and stereotypes.

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what happens when you let a girl and a boy collaborate on a story. You get tenderhearted princesses, ponies, evil giants, and big dudes on motorcycles who rush into save the day and get rich on the gold thread the princess spins. But princesses these days aren’t content to sit back and spin gold thread while the big dudes on motorcycles get all the glory. Hell no. They hit the gym, pump some iron, and become warrior princesses. Hell yes. And then they kick the butts of the giants that have invaded their kingdoms and stolen their ponies. But, big dudes on motorcycles don’t really like spinning gold thread either, so they make an invisibility cloak and they go off to rescue the ponies. Warrior princesses don’t like getting left behind so they go with the big dudes (on motorcycles) and they rescue the ponies together (after fighting about who gets to do it). The giant is terrified and jumps off a cliff. Then, the WP and the BDOM go back to the kingdom, get married (what??), and have a beautiful daughter, no, son, no, daughter, no, son…ad infinitum.

This was a most fantastic picture book. Not only is it a non-traditional butt-kicking princess story, BUT there’s also a motorcycle dude in it. No less than three talented illustrators contributed to the success of this story. The princess illustrations are all lovely and fraught with unicorns, while the motorcycle dude features lots of dark violence, katanas, and volcanoes exploding all around him. So funny.

[(NS) Heatherk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book received the Monarch Award last year as it was voted on by the children of Illinois. Together, a girl and boy must write a story together. Once upon a time there was ...a princess ...a cool muscle dude ...who loved all her beautiful ponies. ...who rode an awesome motorcycle. ...But a giant came and started stealing them! ...The dude came to fight the ugly, smelly giant with his mighty sword. ...She turned gold into thread while she cried for Buttercup, her favorite pony...

Interesting enough, the book has three total illustrators. With the active collaboration between illustrators, the book's pictures are amazing and very interactive. The girl and boy bring the book to life and truly invite the readers into the text. A good selection to pick up next time you are at the library!

[Gina Pecoraro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Format: Picture Book
Interest Level: Grades 3-5

In this book a boy and girl take turns telling a story. The girl starts the story with a princess and her ponies. While she tells the story boy interjects with his own comments until he finally can't stand it and takes over telling the story. This is a book that both boys and girls will enjoy. It's a fun book to read.

This would be a good book to use to introduce and practice partner storytelling. One student starts a story and then their partner takes over. Then they take turns adding to the plot.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever whimsical "battle" between a princess and a "cool" motorcycle dude as each attempts to tell their version of a fairy tale. I read this aloud to students in kindergarten through the sixth grade and, as they say, "a good time was had by all." Even adults will delight in the wit expressed through the dueling characters dialogue.Illustrations are appealing. Hope to see more from this author in the near future!

[Jammies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a big hit with my ten and seven year old nephews and my four and seven year old nieces. I took it up to the lake house when they all were there, and they all loved it. The boys read and re-read it on their own, and the girls asked every adult willing to read them a story to read this book to them. I'll be grabbing the next book for next year's family vacation!

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy and a girl are tasked with presenting a book report about their favorite fairy tale, but they can't agree on which story to present, so they make up their own instead. The girl suggests it should be about ponies and princesses, but the boy thinks it should be about a motorcycle dude. Their tales clash, bridging into feminism and motorcycle culture and maybe come to a satisfying conclusion.

This was a lovely book to read at the Harley Davidson Museum. It captures child psychology well and makes more than one good point.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

My students love this book. I really don’t. At all.

One of my students chose this book as her library choice for the week and asked me to read it during choice time in the classroom. Only a few pages in, we had a crowd of listeners, several of whom had heard the story before and one who joyfully recited all of the words from memory. (And, for me, THAT was a joy because this particular child isn’t typically seen as a ‘reader’ in our classroom. But, this book showed the sheer love he has for the written word, at least in this text.)

The struggle I have with the book is its sickening reinforcement of gender stereotypes – that girls are ooey-gooey romantics obsessed with princesses and ponies, and boys are overwhelmingly interested in tough, buff muscle “dudes,” motorcycles, and fighting. While the girl narrator and her story princess push back against the idea of female subservience (by ‘pumping iron’ and becoming a Warrior Princess), at the end, I still felt a little ill at ease by all the gendered bullshittery. (Yes, I made that word up, but it seems appropriate.) With one author and THREE illustrators, I expected more. (Why? I don’t know. My bad.)

I acknowledge and appreciate the way the book helps solidify a love of the written word for some of my students, but I wish the book didn’t so willfully reinforce gender stereotyping. This will never become a whole-class read aloud in my classroom, but I will read it at the request of individual readers, though they can expect my interjection of questions like, “Do all girls like ponies and all boys like fighting monsters? How could we change the story to better reflect what we like or to show that not all boys or girls like the same things?” (You get the idea.)

[Tami Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

1st-5th Grade (Read Aloud or Independent Reading)
This book was illustrated in a creative way; three different artists were used to tell this amusing story. Kevin O’Malley (also the author) used pen and digital color to draw the children telling the story; his drawings were used on a page by themselves or overlapping the story pictures drawn by Carol Heyer and Scott Goto. Heyer used acrylics to create the images of the princess and the girl’s portion of the story, while Goto used acrylics and oils for the motorcycle dude and the boy’s share of the story. The three distinct artistic styles were a very important part of the story. The text in this book is conveyed in a unique way also, four styles of text are used; each child has their own style of text in their personal text bubbles which are used while they’re talking to each other. There were also two different styles of text used during the separate parts of the story; the girl’s font was more delicate, like the illustrations and her story, while the boy’s was bolder like his segment of the story and his illustrations. Kids of all ages will enjoy this book, all children can relate to wanting something their own way and disagreeing with someone about it. Children, like the two from this book, love to tell stories, I think this can be appealing and an excellent learning tool. Also the unique style of illustrations would be intriguing to anyone who picks up “Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude.” I plan to use this book for many years to come in my classroom.
Math/Science/Language Arts

Lesson Plan Idea: Study and discuss the weather elements in this book, like lighting and volcanoes.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The project is to tell the class about your pair's favorite fairy tale, but one girl and boy can't agree which they like best so they write their own. Three illustrators and one mishmashed tale later, everyone's having fun. Kevin O'Malley authored the story and provides the illustrations of our project pair. Carol Heyer provides the illustrations for the girl's portion of the fairy tale and Scott Goto provides the illustrations for the boy's portion of the fairy tale. While this might be tough for a read-aloud with the interjections from the boy and girl, it's great fun for a read-alone. Even I found the beginning (the girl's fairy tale) a bit twee and I like princesses and unicorns and while the boy swings a bit too far in the gross-out direction for my taste, I love the final melding of the tales. My favorite two spreads are when "Princess Tenderheart goes to the gym and pumps iron. She becomes Princess Warrior. She tells the dude to make his own thread." The illustrations that go with this are just priceless with the style staying true to the original fairy tale while the images show a Princess determined not to be left behind. What this reminds me of most were the serial stories we'd have to write in school. One person would start the story and another would continue it and another would finish it - this would be a great lead in to the same type of exercies if the interjections could be handled. It would also make pretty fun Readers' Theater.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone who has to read stories to little boys and little girls simultaneously. One book to satisfy two different storytime tastes, no fuss, no muss!

My nephew and niece both really enjoyed this story, although I think they did so on different levels. My niece exclaimed, "That is the coolest book! It's so funn-ay!" (Sadly, the Valley Girl lilt is starting to make an appearance in her speech patterns). She laughed in several places, asked me to re-read the book to her and her brother, and then read it on her own. She understood the difficulty that the two genders often have in seeing eye-to-eye, and she enjoyed how the kids in the story finally arrived at a compromise, even if it was a short-lived one. She enjoyed the pictures and the creativity of the book.

I could tell that my nephew was into the story, but his little three-year-old brow was furrowed, and it was clear that his little wheels were working at trying to piece together what exactly was happening in this book. He got that the kids were telling a story, and he got the gist of the story they were telling. He did not understand that the kids in the story were locked in a story-telling battle of the sexes, which is fine. The book worked for him just as a face-value story. Well done to the author and illustrators of this tale!

[(NS) Laura Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who had to tell a fairy tale to the class, but they couldn't agree on the story. Will they all live happily ever after? Once upon a time there was ...a princess ...a cool muscle dude ...who loved all her beautiful ponies. ...who rode an awesome motorcycle. ...But a giant came and started stealing them! ...The dude came to fight the ugly, smelly giant with his mighty sword. ...She turned gold into thread while she cried for Buttercup, her favorite pony. ...And he took the princess's gold thread for payment. The end!” (Goodreads review)
I found that I loved reading this book! I think that because it has two different perspectives represented that both boys and girls would really enjoy reading this book. The format was set up as a graphic novel, so this was a somewhat new experience for me to read this type of book. I found it to be very easy to read and easily relatable. I would recommend using this book in any elementary classroom!

[Ruhama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two kids are supposed to research a fairy tale and then report back to their class, but they couldn’t agree on one. So they made up their own, which has elements of all kinds of fairy tales. The girl partner starts the story, and it’s all flowery, princessy and beautiful. The boy partner interrupts half way through the story and brings in the motorcycle dude who is strong and tough (should I say ‘tuff’?). He tells for a bit, but then they begin to interrupt each other more and more, until they agree to work together to finish the story. This is a fun book, and readers will enjoy the power struggle between the two; girls will especially love the bit of girl-power that shows up partway through the telling. O’Malley did the classroom and student illustrations, and he partnered with two other illustrators to show when the girl was telling the story and when the boy was telling the story. This book would work really well for a tandem storytelling, if you ever have the chance.

[Sarah BT · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude. The boy and girl characters take turn telling the story, which children of all ages can relate to. Everyone wants their ideas included! The story is very humorous and blurs the lines of your typical fairy tale. The illustrations are what made this book stand out for me. The boy and girl are illustrated in a comic book sort of way and they pop up throughout the pages to interrupt. The stories pages look like paintings, with the girl's story painted as brightly colored and whimsical, and the boy's pages darker and with a feeling of menace and foreboding. These two styles become blurred when the story starts to overlap. The illustrations add to the story and really help readers see the different narrations that are happening. Although the book says the age appeal is for 6-10, I could also see this one being used with older readers to introduce fractured fairy tales.

[Kylie Friedel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude is a great book for children. It was fun and entertaining. Two students are telling a fairytale story together. Throughout the story each student takes turns adding their part to the story. It was a very fun, creative, and original way to create this book. The little girl likes ponies and princesses, and the little boy likes the “Cool Motorcycle Dude,” and giants. The motorcycle dude defeats the giants in his part of the story. The sweet princess ends up spinning for the motorcycle dude while her ponies were kidnapped. The best part of this book is the illustrations which were done by three different illustrators. I loved this book and would recommend it to anybody.

[Ubalstecha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember that email that circulated around the Internet about a man and a woman in college that had to do a writing exercise together for a college course? Well imagine that email as a picture book and the college students are in elementary instead and you have the hilarious Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude by Kevin O'Malley. The title alone is enough to make you pick up this book, but the competing illustration styles to match the competing stories are enough to make you stay. Now layer on a funny story that exploits the differences between male and female stories and you have a brilliant picture book that is perfect for junior and intermediate students. Teachers will also love to use this book to illustrate the writing process.

[Shantay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very cute, and I love the illustrations! "Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude" is about two children telling a fairytale together, but each has their own ideas about how the story should go. The little girl favors beautiful princesses and ponies, while the little boy brings in a "cool motorcycle dude" to beat up the nasty giant. The best part of the book are the illustrations, which were done by three different people. One illustrator drew the figures of the girl and boy, one drew the little girl's side of the story, and the last drew the little boy's side of the story. Children (and parents) will enjoy this book.

[Sara Marsh Billiet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took this book to 2nd Grade a couple of years ago when I was invited to be a guest reader for my friend's son Matthew. We teased him about reading a book about a princess and he was completely mortified thinking I was going to embarass him in front of his class. He was relieved to find a Cool Motorcycle Dude was also involved. A great battle of the sexes book to keep girls and boys interested in what happens next.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way this book is put together! The differences between the boys and the girls is exactly the way it is. Kevin O'Malley got it right. Girls want the princesses and the boys want the story to have action and a strong male character. This book puts is all together nicely with the characters figuring out the story as they go. The speech bubbles are the perfect touch to finish out the storyline.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read this book to a 6th grade class as a two reader book, because that is how the book is written. My library assistant and I took turns reading. After the initial reading, we will revisit this book for background knowledge of fairy tales. I will recommend this book to the drama teacher for "readers' theatre" and we will continue to explore it for plot characters and theme. The kids responded well, and we will do it again, and explore in depth.

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book to share. I read it aloud to a group of 3rd graders today and they LOVED it. Next time I read it, I think I'll do a little more preface work, explaining that the story starts with the narration as written by the girl, and that they need to pay close attention to the expressions on the faces of the two characters as they listen to the other one read their section of the story. Great laughs!

[Youth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful read aloud. Even older elementary students will appreciate the humor! I read this to my Godson's class when he was in 2nd Grade and terrified I would embarrass him, but he was quite relieved when his class really enjoyed the book. This book goes back and forth between a girl and boy trying to tell a story - and not agreeing on every point, but coming together for an ending that satifies them both. SD

[Shelley Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude is a new fairy tale told by two kids: a boy and a girl. The illustrators use different types of pictures depending on who is telling the story. The girl's version of the fairytale involves a princess and her ponies while the boy's tells of giants and motorcycle dudes. This story was slightly entertaining, but I enjoyed the pictures more than the story.
Genre: picture book
Copyright: 2005

[Anykidcanwrite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two kids were supposed to tell their favorite fairy tale for a school project. They couldn't agree on one story, so they made up a new one. The girl wanted a story about a princess, but the boy had other ideas. Now a buff motorcycle rider is guarding the princess's last horse from an evil giant.

Your Turn to Write: Put yourself into the Three Little Pigs. You could take the place of a pig or the wolf or be a new character. What happens?