“The bicycle is a symbol of freedom and a healthy, considerate life.” This statement is upheld with distinctive authenticity by the poet Ondřej Buddeus and leading Czech artist Jindřich Janíček in their joint non-fiction work.

Children’s and Young Adult

Janíček’s technically detailed but also playful illustrations are a firstclass complement to the refreshing, confident text, which systematically explains the phenomenon of the bicycle. The first section of the book, The Bicycle as a Thing, shows how the bicycle operates as a means of transport by explaining its origins, its position today, and what it is good for. The second part, The Bicycle and the Body, looks at the physical and emotional effect that riding a bike has on people, and the third and final section places the bicycle within a wider social context under the heading Landscape, the City and the World. The descriptive, encyclopaedic passages are interspersed with lighter episodes (such as the classification of bike trips on an ice-cream scale) and unmistakable colour illustrations, which clearly show that the bicycle is, quite simply, a lifestyle.

Age: 5+