ALA Booklist (Mon Jun 05 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Elena is a young elephant who is determined to master bike riding. She straps on her lime-green helmet, finds her balance, and begins pedaling. Tongue out in concentration, the indigo pachyderm "wobbles and bobbles" before A-BANG!" e splats on the ground. Up she gets to try again d again ways with the quiet encouragement of her red-bird pal. The well-designed beginning reader places expressive, thick-lined illustrations against uncluttered, white-and- yellow backgrounds for a supportive, undistracting reading experience. The text itself is a stimulating mix of rhyme, alliteration, repetition, and onomatopoeia that is playfully printed and positioned on the page in a manner that underscores its meaning. Medina also captures the many relatable emotions Elena feels throughout the story, from excitement and determination to frustration and joy. A fresh, new offering for the Elephant and Piggie set.

Horn Book (Fri Jan 13 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Medina (Juana & Lucas, rev. 11/16) gives new readers an inviting, cheerful take on the developmental milestone of learning to ride a bike. Elena, an elephant, straps on her helmet and, with the encouragement of her small bird friend, attempts to ride a ­two-wheeler. "KA-BANG!" ends one ride. "KA-PLUNK!" ends another. The illustrations use thick lines and bold solid colors to focus readers' attention on Elena, the bird, and the bike. The text is minimal, to the point, and appropriate for a new reader, but it's also musical, playful, and fun to read aloud. Elena "readies" and "steadies," and she "wobbles" and "bobbles." Repetition of words and sound blends serves the needs of children who are building confidence sounding words out, without bogging the story down. The illustrations and sometimes even text placement support decoding. On one page Elena "goes up and down and all around," and we see the corresponding images and text slope up and down the page. After a few tries and some tears, Elena gets the hang of the bike, an apt metaphor for the challenge of learning to read. There are plenty of books about learning to ride a bike, but this one's approachability for its intended audience, bright imagery, and good humor place it near the front of the peloton. Concurrently published in Spanish as Elena monta en bici, as well as in a bilingual (English/Spanish) edition. Adrienne L. Pettinelli

Kirkus Reviews

It's never too early to learn to show grit, try again, and "fail better."A cheerful, chunky blue elephant in a small green helmet mounts a two-wheeler. Swirls of bright yellow serve as a spotlight or a horizon against the white of the page. With her tomato-red bird friend on the handlebars, ebullient Elena takes off, ecstatic…but not for long: "KA-BANG!" Her bird fluttering around her, she tries again: "KA-PLUNK!" With support from her bird pal, she tries again. And again. Tears, adamant refusal ("N-O: NO!"), more encouragement, and finally, she's on a roll. Concise text in a large, sans-serif type is direct but includes some reading challenges like buckles, awhile, and bawls. The cartoon-outline, block-color illustrations feature energetic double-page compositions, readable facial expressions, and dynamic changes from close-up to distance (young readers will soon grasp that both cycling elephants on a page are Elena). The restrained typeface gives way to appropriately thick, page-filling brush strokes for every "KA-RASH!" and "KA-BANG!" before the typeface returns with triumphantly enlarged final words: "Elena rides!" Storytime listeners will be enthralled. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Sensational for reading aloud, with dramatic onomatopoeic opportunities aplenty. (Picture book. 3-6)