Wheels of Change by Sue Macy

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy

 

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Rationale

Wheels of Change parallels the history of the bicycle and the struggle for women’s equality. The book follows these histories through fun and colorful text and images from the introduction of the bicycle in the United States until women were granted the right to vote.  The book does not follow the subject from a timeline standpoint (although there is one provided in the appendix) but rather through various subjects.  The chapter heading show how the material is laid out with titles like ‘Inventing the Bicycle’, ‘The Devil’s Advocate’, ‘Fashion Forward’, ‘Fast and Fearless’ and ‘New Freedoms’.

The picture I choose is included in the book (title page) and is of Katharine Wright (sister of the Wright brothers). This electronic copy is from the Smithsonian institution.  It is an excellent example of what women looked like, riding their bicycles, during that time period.  It gives you the sense of freedom women must have felt on having a form of transportation (less expensive than a horse) and being able to go out unescorted by a male.  The quote is from Susan B. Anthony who was a great proponent of the bicycle and the freedoms they provided women.  And, I provided a short blurb, providing a brief synopsis of what could be found within the book in the hopes of capturing some interested readers.  I found the topic interesting and the book laid out in an easy to read fashion.

Related Reads

Related Read Title	Related Read Author	Category	How Related Read Relates to Initial Title	Why You Would Recommend the Related Read
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony: A Friendship That Changed the World	Penny Colman	Biography	Both women are quoted in this book.	Biography of two famous women who both were groundbreaking supporters of women’s right to vote and both showed their support of women ownership of bicycles.
Lyddie	Katherine Paterson	Historical Fiction	While Wheels of Change shows the freedoms women gained during the 1800s, Lyddie shows the opposite - what it was like for girls with no freedoms during the same time period.	-An ALA Notable Book -An ALA Best Book for Young Adults -A Booklist Editor's Choice -American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists" -School Library Journal Best Book -Parents magazine Best Book
Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time	Tanya Lee Stone	Informational	This book provides a look at modern day and the belief that girls can change the world.	Where Wheels of Change focused on how the bicycle helped liberate women, Girl Rising shows how education can help lead women to the revolution. -A Junior Library Guild selection -Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2017 -Starred review in Kirkus, Booklist and VOYA
Little Women	Louisa May Alcott	Classic/ Realistic Fiction	Another viewpoint of what life was like for women in the 1800s.	-An American classic -Shared cultural reference

Review

School Library Journal: “Wheels of Change pairs the history of the bicycle with the history of women’s rights, showing quite convincingly how one influenced the other (and vice versa). The important thing to establish here is how cooped up and restrained (in every possible sense) women were prior to their bicycle-based escapades. A book of this sort could have come across as dry and dull as old toast, were it not for Macy’s sparkling writing, the eclectic design of each and every page (a National Geographic staple in books for kids), and the sheer number of photographs to be found here. To find such a book for kids is rare and wonderful. To find that the book itself is ALSO rare and wonderful is just a nice plus. A great idea, a fine follow through, and a subject that has been too little considered until now. It’s enough to make you want to grab a helmet and a bike and to try it out for yourself.”

References

Alcott, L.M. (2007). Little women. Children’s Evergreen Classics

Bird, E. (2011, May 4). Wheels of Change by Sue Macy [Review]. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2011/05/04/review-of-the-day-wheels-of-change-by-sue-macy/

Chance, R. (2014) Young adult literature in action: A librarian’s guide. (Second Edition). Denver, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Colman, P. (2016). Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony: A friendship that changed the world. New York: Square Fish/Henry Holt and Company.

Katharine Wright [Photograph found in Smithsonian: Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C.]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/5780hjpg

Paterson, K. (2015). Lyddie. New York: Puffin Books.

Stone, T.L. (2018). Girl rising: changing the world one girl at a time. S.1.: Ember.