Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

Vivian Kirkfield, one of the kid lit community’s most energetic encouragers, has a new book hitting bookstores—and wow! it’s a powerful story beautifully told! PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: ANNIE LONDONDERRY, THE FIRST WOMAN TO CYCLE AROUND THE WORLD will inspire and bring history alive for all ages. Like Vivian, I’m a former teacher who’s a firm believer in the power of picture books, a.k.a. illustrated texts, and all they offer to reinforce and introduce content area skills and concepts, whether on the fly with a quick reading, or an in-depth dive into the story. 

Giveaway: Vivian is offering a 30-minute Ask-Me-Anything Zoom Chat for a writer or a 40-minute Author Visit Zoom for a classroom. Be sure to leave a comment below to be entered to win!

Congrats to Danielle Hammelef, winner of Keila Dawson’s giveaway of YUMBO GUMBO! 

Using Picture Books Across Curriculum Subjects in Every Grade Level

by Vivian Kirkfield

Most young children display great enthusiasm when a parent or teacher sits down to read a picture book. In fact, toddlers delight in turning the pages, and with each turn, new discoveries are made. But something happens to that beautiful curiosity and thirst for learning as kids move from picture books to chapter books – and from early school experiences to later ones. Of course, there are many factors involved – and I won’t say that the absence of picture books is the cause of students losing interest. But I will say that I believe picture books belong in the classroom…every classroom at every grade level. As a former educator, I realize that there is a severe lack of time compared to the amount of information, activities, testing, and all that teachers are expected to be teaching and kids are expected to be learning. However, even five minutes is enough time to read a picture book like PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World to your class…and here’s what may happen.

A window opens for discussions about difficult topics:
Picture books address all types of situations – parents with cancer, grandparents suffering from Alzheimer’s, racial and gender and body-type discrimination, environmental activism, and a host of others. And, because the stories are geared for young children, the topics are usually handled gently. A story like PEDAL can encourage a discussion of how women were fighting for more rights in the 1890s and how bicycles helped them gain more independence. Annie was a young mother of three living in poverty in late-nineteenth century Boston. She heard about a wager that would pay a $10,000 reward to the first woman to bike around the world. Leaving her children with her husband and his parents, she set out. She only had 15 months to do it. She was required to earn the funds needed for the trip PLUS she had to earn $5,000 on top of that which she did by selling advertising space on her bike and her body – becoming the first woman in sports to receive paid endorsements. Oh, and she’d never ridden a bike before – and took two lessons before she departed Boston.

A tie-in with many subject areas appears:
Picture book settings span many different places and time periods.
Geography? Several spreads in PEDAL show Annie traversing the country…and the continents of Europe and Asia. Have your students map out a trip around the world that they would like to take – how would they travel?
History? There is a timeline in the back matter that provides important dates in the battle for equality. Plus, there is another back matter section called Brakes, Bloomers, and Other Bicycle Bits that offers information about the invention of the bike.
Math? How far did Annie travel? How much time did she have left to complete her round-the-world journey when she landed in San Franscisco? How much money did she have to earn and how much did she win? What would that amount be worth today?
Language Arts? Invite your students to become reporters looking for a great news story for their paper. Have them interview Annie and write it up in their column.

Art appreciation grows:
Picture books are filled with beautiful illustrations. Each illustrator has their own style. And each illustrator needs to do a ton of research, especially with a nonfiction story. Why did illustrator Alison Jay use that color palette? How does she show Annie’s exhaustion? Annie’s victory? What landmarks does she draw to help provide the reader with a realistic setting in 1890s America, at the dock in San Franscisco, through the streets of Paris, and as Annie ventures into Asia?

Perhaps the best part of reading a picture book to your class, no matter what grade level, will be these few minutes that harken back to a kinder gentler time in their lives…and yours. No one is too old to be read to. Why not try starting your day with a picture book?

Don’t forget to leave a comment below to enter Vivian’s GIVEAWAY: a 30-minute Ask-Me-Anything Zoom Chat for a writer or a 40-minute Author Visit Zoom for a classroom. 

BIO: Vivian Kirkfield constantly takes leaps of faith—she jumped from a perfectly good plane with her son, hiked to the summit of Pikes Peak with her husband, and parasailed over the Pacific Ocean with only seagulls for company. Passionate about helping kids become lovers of books, Vivian is the author of board books, picture books, and a middle grade compilation of illustrated biographies that brings history alive for young readers. Her #50PreciousWords contest for adult writers in March garnered over 750 entries in 2023, while the #50PreciousWords Literacy initiative has provided over 700 brand-new books for local schools in need over the past two years. In addition, since 2018, the #50PreciousWordsforKids International Writing Challenge, which takes place during Children’s Book Week in May, invites students from around the world to share their 50-word stories and illustrations.

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