As the weather warms, families everywhere are opening their garages for big clean ups and new outdoor adventures. At our house, every mode of transport gets a spring-time evaluation and tune up, from the battery-powered Jeep to the bikes and trikes.
We hose off all the dust and mud. Squeeze the tires, and pump them up. Give the breaks a squeeze, and gears some grease. Then, off we ride!
We are rolling smoothly now, as a crew, but the journey from four wheels to two is one we’ll never forget. In our driveway, on our street, and in parking lots across our town - we practiced balance, grip and pedaling, and got a feel for wide open spaces.
Learning to ride is a formative and unforgettable experience for many kids and parents - the hope of flying, the fear of trying, and the freedom of goodbye-ing when you ride away… just you, your bike and the wind…
The brand new picture book TOGETHER WE RIDE, which zoomed onto shelves April 26, follows a family as it embarks on this thrilling adventure. Written by Valerie Bolling, and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita (Chronicle), this spirited, celebratory story captures the journey to two wheels in tight, inventive rhyme and joyful, precise pictures.
Bolling, the author, begins the story with a single word: Inside. Readers are welcomed into the family’s garage, where every detail brings us close to the main character and her life. Hanging bikes. A basket mid-weave. Chalk swirls on the concrete floor. Juanita, the illustrator, etches and places each item in delicate lines and soft-yet-bright colors, reflecting a family that’s abuzz with creativity and action.
Then outside they go, exiting the garage and entering a bright San Francisco day - the Golden Gate Bridge arching red in the distance, over waves of blue. Quick stride, Dad and daughter take off… but then, Slip, slide, tossed aside. The main character lands with a bang in the bushes, yellow angles emphasizing the pain and disappointment that comes with taming a tipping bike.
Bolling’s just-right words, which often physically underscore action on the page, emphasize emotion and propel the story forward. The concise style is a perfect match for the experience of learning to ride, where communication comes in quickly delivered redirections and exclamations, and what matters most is presence and proximity - where Run beside gives you the confidence to Coast, glide.
As summer and Father’s Day near, TOGETHER WE RIDE’s arrival is impeccably timed. So, with excitement to share this title with tons of families in my world, who are embarking on similar moments, I sat down for a chat with Valerie to learn more about how this special story came to be! I hope you enjoy my Author Spotlight with Valerie Bolling:
3 Questions with Valerie Bolling
TOGETHER WE RIDE is so creatively composed. I love the verbs that you constructed (hug-cried, goodbyed) - so succinct, yet packed with emotion. How did you find these perfect new words?
Thank you for that compliment, Anitra. For TOGETHER WE RIDE, I challenged myself to write a book with as few words as possible and to use the same end rhyme throughout the text. Therefore, I had to choose words carefully and make sure each one counted. Since I like playing with words, it was fun finding the right words and creating a couple of my own, like “hug-cried” and “goodbyed.”
Take us into your writing space. When are you there, and what things do you surround yourself with, when you are creating?
I used to write only in my office, often with a scented candle burning and a cup of herbal tea. Now I write in many places around my home – family room, kitchen, bedroom, and deck (weather permitting, of course). Some of my best writing ideas come to me when I’m not at home. During walks I’ve thought of new story ideas or how to increase the tension in a draft or revise an ending. Sometimes I dictate notes into my phone. I’ve even written or revised drafts during long car rides. I can write anywhere. I just need time ... and quiet.
What advice can you share with writers who want to make sure that every word counts and drives the story forward?
That’s a good question, Anitra. For a short text, like TOGETHER WE RIDE, think about the image or feeling that each word conveys, and ask yourself if fewer words can be used to convey that image or feeling. For longer texts, be willing to cut words that do not move the story along. This could be an entire scene, or it could be descriptive words that are unnecessary because the pictures will do the work. No matter what you’re writing, delete filler words, like “really,” “very,” “so,” etc.
Great tips! Thank you so much for visiting the blog, Valerie! You can order TOGETHER WE RIDE through your local indie, or purchase it today, here.
Valerie Bolling is the author of the 2021 SCBWI Crystal Kite award-winning and CT Book Award finalist LET’S DANCE! (March 2020). In 2022 Valerie is happy to welcome TOGETHER WE RIDE (April) and RIDE, ROLL, RUN: TIME FOR FUN! (October). Sequels to these books as well as a Scholastic early reader series, RAINBOW DAYS, are slated for 2023. A graduate of Tufts University and Columbia University, Teachers College, Valerie has been an educator for almost 30 years. She currently works as an Instructional Coach for Greenwich Public Schools and is on the faculty at Westport Writers’ Workshop. She is also a WNDB mentor and deeply immersed in the kidlit writing community, particularly involved with SCBWI, the 12X12 Picture Book Challenge, and Black Creators HeadQuarters. Valerie and her husband live in Connecticut and enjoy traveling, hiking, reading, going to the theater, and dancing. Learn more at linktr.ee/ValerieBolling.
Kaylani Juanita is an illustrator based in Fairfield, CA, who illustrates inclusive picture books, editorial art, and afros. Some of her clients include Chronicle Books, Cicada Magazine, and DEFY. Her work has been recognized by Society of Illustrators, The Huffington Post, as well as BBC. California grown and raised, she's studied at Cal Arts and CCA for a BFA in Illustration. Her mission as an artist is to support the stories of the under represented and create new ways for people to imagine themselves. You can find her lurking in public secretly drawing strangers or writing nonsensical stories about who knows what.
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