A Bike Like Sergio's

by Maribeth Boelts, Noah Z. Jones (Illustrator)

Overview

Finders keepers, right? When Ruben picks up someone’s lost money, he finds out how hard it can be to do the right thing.

Ruben feels like he is the only kid without a bike. His friend Sergio reminds him that his birthday is coming, but Ruben knows that the kinds of birthday gifts he and Sergio receive are not the same. After all, when Ruben’s mom sends him to Sonny’s corner store for groceries, sometimes she doesn’t have enough money for everything on the list. So when Ruben sees a dollar bill fall out of someone’s purse, he picks it up and puts it in his pocket. But when he gets home, he discovers it’s not one dollar or even five or ten—it’s a hundred-dollar bill, more than enough for a new bike just like Sergio’s! But what about the crossed-off groceries? And what about the woman who lost her money? Presenting a relatable story told with subtlety and heart, the creative team behind Those Shoes pairs up again for a satisfying picture book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536202953
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/04/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	43,727
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Maribeth Boelts is the author of numerous books for children, including Those Shoes, a previous collaboration with artist Noah Z. Jones, and Happy Like Soccer, illustrated by Lauren Castillo. She lives with her family in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Noah Z. Jones is the illustrator of Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts as well as Not Norman: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett, The Monster in the Backpack by Lisa Moser, and Welcome to the Bed and Biscuit by Joan Carris. He lives in Glendale, California.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/05/2016
Ruben, the young narrator of this story from the team behind Those Shoes (2007), knows that his family can’t afford the bike he yearns for. “Wishes won’t make money appear,” he confides to readers. “Ask your parents again,” urges his bike-riding friend Sergio, who doesn’t seem to realize the limitations of Ruben’s circumstances. Then one day, a woman unknowingly drops a $100 bill in the grocery store. If Ruben doesn’t return it, he can buy the bike—but how will he explain it to his parents? Boelts lays out Ruben’s ethical dilemma and emotional turmoil without preaching, and his struggle and journey toward the moral choice—which includes an interlude in which he believes he has lost the money—is both dramatic and genuine. Jones’s mixed-media illustrations capture the scuffed-up feel of Ruben’s urban neighborhood, as well as the sweet earnestness of the bespectacled hero and his multiracial family. “I am happy and mixed up, full and empty, with what’s right and what’s gone,” says Ruben after returning the money. Readers will second those emotions. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Scott Treimel, Scott Treimel NY. Illustrator’s agent: Edward Necarsulmer IV, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Boelts lays out Ruben’s ethical dilemma and emotional turmoil without preaching, and his struggle and journey toward the moral choice—which includes an interlude in which he believes he has lost the money—is both dramatic and genuine. Jones’s mixed-media illustrations capture the scuffed-up feel of Ruben’s urban neighborhood, as well as the sweet earnestness of the bespectacled hero and his multiracial family. “I am happy and mixed up, full and empty, with what’s right and what’s gone,” says Ruben after returning the money. Readers will second those emotions.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This tale of temptation, ethics, guilt, and family love is firmly grounded in the economic realities of today, as was the earlier collaboration between Boelts and Jones, Those Shoes (rev. 11/07)...The resolution is realistic for a kid with a loving, supportive fam- ily, and it leaves plenty of room for talking about what is most important in life from an authentically childlike perspective.
—Horn Book

Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality...Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children.
—Kirkus Reviews

The colorful mixed-media illustrations show a well- appointed school and a friendly urban setting with just the right amount of detail to allow the important interpersonal dynamics to be front and center.
—Booklist

The art, digitally assembled line and watercolor with touches of pencil, has some of Brian Karas’ homey naïveté but a texture and portraiture all its own, and the carefully chosen details of school, grocery, and home backgrounds effectively set the stage. Sure to elicit discussion among kids, this is a morality play that strikes at the heart.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Parents of all economic backgrounds can use this selection to start a conversation about right and wrong.
—School Library Journal

Maribeth Boelts's A Bike Like Sergio's honestly, lyrically captures the heat, sweat and rollercoaster nature of a child's ethical dilemma. Noah Z. Jones's watercolor, pen and ink artwork has a free and sketchy style, expressive and thoroughly charming. A true stand-out from the author-illustrator team behind Those Shoes.
—Shelf Awareness for Readers

A good one to share with children. Let them think on it a while. And then some.
—Kirkus Reviews (blog)

Maribeth Boelts captures the agony of a moral dilemma in “A Bike Like Sergio’s," a picture book for 5- to 8-year-olds...Noah Z. Jones’s expressive, naïve illustrations reinforce the sincerity of a boy’s valiant struggle with temptation.
—The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

10/01/2016
K-Gr 2—Ruben wants a bike like Sergio's and ones his other friends ride, but his family cannot afford one. Fate seems to help him find a way to pay for a bike when a lady inadvertently drops a $100 bill while checking out at the grocery store. No one notices as Ruben stashes the bill in his backpack. The text is lively. "My hands are shaking. That money is enough for a bike like Sergio's. Then I won't have to run; I'll be riding." Semirealistic cartoon illustrations have readers rooting for Ruben to do the right thing. At first, he is excited, envisioning spending the money on a new bike, but eventually he starts feeling guilty. Ruben's conscience eats at him, especially when he cannot find the $100 bill. He searches everywhere before finally locating it in another pocket. Relieved, Ruben decides he will do the right thing and soon gets his chance to make things right. When doing an errand for his mom at the grocery store, he runs into the same woman who lost the bill. He returns it and goes home to tell his family what happened. The book ends as he basks in his parents' pride. This title hits on the issues of poverty, peer pressure, and self-control. VERDICT Parents of all economic backgrounds can use this selection to start a conversation about right and wrong, but kids might find the ending less than satisfying.—Robin Sofge, Alexandria Library, VA

School Library Journal

2016-07-20
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride. Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews