Saturday, December 16, 2017

Pedal Power: How One Community Became the Bicycle Capital of the World


I was a big fan of Drummond’s “Energy Island” and “Pedal Power” has a similar feel, informational with an environmental penchant.  Having once visited Amsterdam, I can attest to the obvious.  There are a lot of bikes there.  The story behind how that came to be is an interesting one.  The peaceful protests brought attention to the issue, especially a dinner party in the middle of the road and a road blockage involving children to institute “play streets”.  But the tipping point may have had more to do with the fuel shortage when the roads were closed to cars in Amsterdam.  The combination of these factors made the climate just right for a more bike friendly Amsterdam.  Allan Drummond’s illustrations seem to open with the problems in isolated small picture fashion, moving to the collective problem solving and community coming together to rally around a mother and her cause.  The illustrations wrap up with the isolated pictures again but showing the movement take seed and spread to other communities around the globe.  I am happy to report that my own small corner of the world in Horsham, PA now has a bike share program through the public library.  The author’s note gives more details about how Allan Drummond came to this story which was a meandering road.  I love when the destination is so different than where you think you are going.  Drummond wanted to write about the thrill of riding a bike in the city, and THIS is where he ended up!  


Title: Pedal Power: How One Community Became the Bicycle Capital of the World
Author: Allan Drummond
Published 2017 by Farrar Straus Giroud
ISBN: 9780374305277


This book was sent from the publisher for review purposes.

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