Wild Blue

Slater does an excellent job inhabiting that space between imagination and real life that allows two things to be true: Wild Blue can be simultaneously a horse and a bicycle. Hughes's soft acrylic-ink illustrations capture that space as well: we sometimes see Kayla in a cowboy hat in the company of a large horse, and at other times in a bicycle helmet with her bike. Readers will appreciate Kayla's commitment to her imaginative life, along with Slater's twist on the familiar learning-to-ride-a-bike story. -The Horn Book A quiet story, this may help young readers who are similarly transitioning their two-wheeled steeds or prepare them for the experience of doing so. . . A new tale with a classic feel that will buoy many young riders. -Kirkus Reviews Kayla's pink pony (a bike with training wheels) is too small for her now, and it's time to put it out to pasture and find a more suitable steed. Kayla wrangles a ride she dubs Wild Blue at the bike shop, but the bike is a huge adjustment from her old one. . . Viewers taking on a daunting new skill may relate to and benefit from Kayla's imaginative methods. -The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books This picture book, in which a girl trades in her training wheels for a daunting two-wheeler, is a subtle but effective demonstration of how exposure therapy can conquer fear. . . . The acrylic-ink illustrations and sunset hues brilliantly enhance the Old West metaphor, as the landscape shifts incrementally from urban to rural. . . a great example of step-by-step learning. -Booklist