The Bicycle Man

The Bicycle Man
Written by Allen Say
1982

This is the story of a small boy in Japan. At his school they are having what they call their sportsday. The children and staff are excited and eager to begin the day's events. After getting the playground ready, they begin their first race. Once each grade level has completed their race and the awards have been given out, the children sit and enjoy lunch with their parents. The fun continues after lunch until everyone notices that there are two strangers watching them from over the fence. The two American soldiers come through the gate and one asks to borrow the principal's bicycle. He begins riding around, putting on quite a show for the students, staff, and parents. They are all so amazed and impressed that the soldier is given the largest award of the day. He and his friend thank him, bow to the school, and head down the mountain, waving and laughing as they go. 

The first thing that came to my mind as I read this book was our field day, which is essentially the same thing as the sportsday in the story. I could completely relate to the excitement of the children as they participated in each event. Although the story takes place many years ago and in a different country, our students could definitely relate to the events since it is something that we do in our school each year. It would be a great way to talk about the history of events between our two countries, and even to discuss some common stereotypes and first impressions which are often proven to be false.