ANNIE FLIES THE BIRTHDAY BIKE

Small girl yearns for and gets bike, takes a few days to find her balance (with the help of a neighbor boy, apparently hired by her dad), six days after her birthday has done ``nearly six feet'' on her own—but after four more days is off on an independent outing. She takes a tumble going downhill (kindly old Mr. Volk, who sees her fall, bandages her bleeding knee), but the pain doesn't matter: Annie can ride now. The author relates the familiar scenario in irregularly rhyming free-form verse whose cadence artfully reflects Annie's shaky start and her exhilaration when she finally soars free. On broad, colorful spreads that nicely accommodate the biking action, McCully depicts a comfortable neighborhood with large, well-spaced houses (and virtually no cars); more important, she conveys emotions, even the subtler ones like apprehension, encouragement, or quiet pride, with a deftly unassuming economy of line. (Picture book. 4-8)