Welcome to SPORTY GIRL BOOKS. At SPORTY GIRL, we want to give all girls the chance to love, watch, play, read, and write about any sport that interests them. We look forward to the day when the words, "You play like a girl," is the biggest compliment anyone can receive.

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Book Review: IF YOU GIVE A GIRL A BIKE #NGWSD2023

It’s February 1, 2023 and time to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) and, if you want to give a girl a book (today or any day), I highly recommend this empowering sporty, adventure picture book: IF YOU GIVE A GIRL A BIKE by Hayley Diep and illustrated by Braden Hallett.

Not only does the main character and her two girlfriends like to bike, but in the spirit of “if you see it, you can be it,” she falls in love with one sport and, subsequently several other sports throughout the story. When she spots a skateboarder cruising down the sidewalk, she has to try that sport; when she watches someone rock climbing on TV, she tries that sport; after a car drives by with a surfboard on the roof, she immediately hits the water to surf, surf, surf; and before the sun sinks into the horizon, she wants to go back out on her bike. Doesn’t that sound like a perfect day?

This delightful sporty girl picture book is a fun read-aloud that includes repetition and accurate lingo for each sport. When she takes a tumble or wipes out, she is not afraid of a few “scrapes or bruises” and gets right back up to continue her adventure — a powerful lesson.

Diep, a teacher and cyclist, wrote an article for LIV Cycling (a cycling brand dedicated to girls and women) about the book that includes how-to tips on encouraging more girls to fall in love with bicycling. One of my favorite lines from the article is, “After all, biking builds grit, resilience, and confidence, and we want our girls to have these traits!”