Wild Blue, by Dashka Slater/Illustrated by Laura Hughes, (Feb. 2023, Candlewick Press), $18.99, ISBN: 9781536215670
Ages 3-7
A little girl named Kaya loves her pink pony – a pink tricycle – when Daddy tells her it’s time for a new bike. She’s outgrown pink pony, he tells her, as he takes her to the bike store to “wrangle a new one from the herd”. Told from Kayla’s point of view, bicycles become horses in a metaphor that’s expertly delivered in a combination of storytelling and illustration. Kayla names her new two-wheeler Wild Blue, and Wild Blue is a little ornery; she bucks Kayla off a few times, and despite Dad’s telling her to “show her who’s boss”, it’s not until Kayla and Wild Blue share a moment of calm together in the park, watching the other bikes zoom by, that girl and bike come together, united in purpose, and ride. Has Wild Blue been tamed? Nah: “She’s still wild… But so am I”. Slater beautifully pairs the experience of learning to ride a bigger bike and learning to ride a horse, seamlessly blending the two experiences into a story that readers will enjoy time and again. Hughes’s acrylic illustrations bring Slater’s words to life, with moments like Kayla seeing herself in the mirror, donning a cowgirl hat, as she puts on her bike helmet; visuals shift between a blue bike and a strong, determined blue horse. An open field shows Kayla in the forefront, hand on Wild Blue, as to her left, groups of bike riders ride a trail; to her right, a herd of riders and horses gallop. A great story to have in collections and great for readers tackling those big “firsts”.
Mom Read It 