books · mentor texts · writing workshop

A Bike Like Sergio’s: Review and Giveaway!

Lisa Keeler

cover-a-bike

Maribeth Boelts’ new book A Bike Like Sergio’s will appeal to readers and writers of all ages. It’s a heartfelt story with a message to which readers will relate; the right decision is often the hard choice.

From the publisher: “Ruben feels like he is the only kid without a bike. His friend Sergio reminds him that his birthday is coming, but Ruben knows that the kinds of birthday gifts he and Sergio receive are not the same. After all, when Ruben’s mom sends him to Sonny’s corner store for groceries, sometimes she doesn’t have enough money for everything on the list. So when Ruben sees a dollar bill fall out of someone’s purse, he picks it up and puts it in his pocket. But when he gets home, he discovers it’s not one dollar or even five or ten—it’s a hundred-dollar bill, more than enough for a new bike just like Sergio’s! But what about the crossed-off groceries? And what about the woman who lost her money? Presenting a relatable story told with subtlety and heart, the creative team behind Those Shoes pairs up again for a satisfying new picture book. Finders keepers, right? When Ruben picks up someone’s lost money, he finds out how hard it can be to do the right thing.”

The characters in this story will provide some readers with mirrors and  others with windows. The story will leave all readers with plenty to think about and discuss. I can imagine this book serving many purposes in lots of classrooms.

I decided to use Stacey’s new book Craft Moves to guide me as I contemplated how I might use this book to teach writers. And before I go any further, I must encourage you to get your hands on Craft Moves now, if you haven’t already. It is an invaluable tool for planning teaching points with mentor texts.

After looking at Stacey’s list of power craft moves (page 11), I read and reread A Bike Like Sergio’s with my writer lens.  Since the book does not have page numbers, I placed my sticky notes directly on pages, rather than on a separate chart.  This is what my book looked like when I finished:

a-bike-marked-up      a-bike-working

From there it became obvious what my teaching points with this text could be.

  • Punctuation helps create voice in writing.
  • Simple, to the point dialog is powerful- and  writers use dialog to move the plot forward.
  • Including a character’s internal thinking adds depth to both the character and the plot.
  • Telling a story in the present tense builds tension.

Not only is A Bike Like Sergio’s a beautiful story with a powerful message, but it will also make an excellent mentor text for writers. The fact that the text on each page is spare, will make this book accessible, rather than overwhelming  for young writers. The fact that the story is told using a range of craft moves will make it an excellent model for middle grade writers. The fact that the subject is one to which almost all of us can relate- that moment when we have to decide whether to satisfy a want or do the right thing- will inspire writers of all ages. 

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

  • This giveaway is for one copy of A Bike Like Sergio’s by Maribeth Boelts. Many thanks to Candlewick Press for donating a copy of this book to one lucky blog commenter.
  • For a chance to win one copy of A Bike Like Sergio’s please leave a response to this post by Sunday, November 13th at 11:59 p.m. ET. Lisa Keeler will use a random number generator to pick a winner, whose name will be announced on this post on Monday, November 14th.
  • Please leave a valid e-mail address when you post your comment, so Lisa can contact you to obtain your mailing address if you win. Our contact at Candlewick will mail the book to the winner.  (NOTE: Your e-mail address will not be published online if you leave it in the e-mail field only.)
  • If you are the winner, Lisa will email you with the subject line “TWO WRITING TEACHERS – A BIKE LIKE SERGIO’S.” Please respond to her e-mail with your mailing address within five days of receipt. Unfortunately, a new winner will be chosen if a response isn’t received within five days of the giveaway announcement.

Published by Lisa Keeler

70 thoughts on “A Bike Like Sergio’s: Review and Giveaway!”

  4. I can’t wait to get my hands on this book and use it as a read aloud to begin my next staff meeting! I’ll also have to reorder Those Shoes, too. Keep ’em coming!

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  5. I ordered both books. I think they will inspire my own writing first, so that I can be a better writing coach. Thank you so much for freely sharing your work and thoughts.

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  6. Thanks!

    On Wednesday, November 9, 2016, TWO WRITING TEACHERS wrote:

    > Lisa Keeler posted: ” Maribeth Boelt’s new book A Bike Like Sergio’s will > appeal to readers and writers of all ages. It’s a heartfelt story with a > message to which readers will relate; the right decision is often the hard > choice. From the publisher: “Ruben feels like he ” >

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  13. WOW! Love the potential this book has for so many teachable moments and strategies for reading and writing. We use her other book Those Shoes so much!

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  14. More and more I am finding that explicitly teaching students the value of punctuation, as a reader and a writer, moves their learning along quickly.

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  19. We read this book during our Character Counts! celebration week and loved it. So powerful! I have Craft Moves but haven’t read it yet. Glad there’s a long weekend ahead so I can get started. Thanks for the post – great ideas and gives me the nudge I need to use this as a writing mentor text. janiefahey@gmail.com

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  20. I would love to check out this book! I LOVE “Those Shoes” for interactive read aloud and teaching needs and wants in first grade. I think this book might be another great one to add to my resources for these purposes.

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  22. This has been on my list of “Books to Check Out” for some time now. Would be perfect to add to my collection of mentor texts for punctuation study!

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  23. I appreciate the ideas presented and the fact that Maribeth Bolts offered to Skype with the winner! I will put it on my list of books to read and use for mentor text.

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  32. Thank you, Lisa, for such a lovely review, and for so many heartwarming comments. I’d like to offer a free Skype or Google Hangouts session for any interested winner. Could not be more grateful for this community.

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  36. Such a great mentor text! One of our learner profile attributes is about being principled and having the attitude of integrity, so this book would be perfect for those discussions!

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  37. Love Those Shoes and look forward to reading this book. It will definitely be added to my classroom library. If I were to win it, that would be terrific!

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  41. Looking forward to sharing this mentor text and possible lessons with the teachers I work with! Students are responding well to the use of mentor texts, with increased application in their own writing!

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  46. This book looks great! I am a literacy coach and I would love to use this as a mentor texts with teachers and students that I am working with.

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  50. I bought Craft Moves and have been sharing it with other teachers. I an excited to share A Bike Like Sergio’s with other teachers. Thank you so much for the information.

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  61. I teach in Angola and would absolutely love to be able to have books like this to help me to teach my second graders, most of whom are English Language Learners, to write better. Absolutely LOVE your blogs. They inspire me So much. Thank you for what you are doing for teachers. This book appeals to me big time! Will also do my utmost to get hold of a copy of her Craft Moves.

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  64. I am enjoying Stacey’s book so much this year! 🙂 This looks like such great book. I can’t wait to get it…and am wondering why I haven’t already ordered it.

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  65. Just read Craft Moves and have been using the power moves chart for so many books. Sergio was shared during a PD yesterday and I cannot wait to get my own copy.

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  67. What a sweet story that so many of our students can relate to! I can’t wait to add this book to my collection! Thank you for these giveaways!!!

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