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How Is A Bicycle Made? Angela Royston (2007)
Heinermann 0 431 05054 6 32pp £6.50
Aimed at 5-6 year old children, this book tells a simplified story of
how raw materials become a bicycle that is then sold in a shop
 
Initiatives to encourage children back on to bicycles come and go, but
few educationalists seem to grasp the possibilities of the bicycle as
an integrated teaching aid. By exploring the science and maths of a bicycle
there is much scope to demystify a complex manufactured product. Such
a process might also start encourage the idea that with a spanner and
an hex key it is possible to adjust, modify and repair your mount.
Bicycles remain a popular Christmas present – but as anyone who
has taught children cycle proficiency will tell you – a shocking
number of these gifts will languish unused in garages before making their
final journey in the back of a car to the municipal tip.
Royston’s book is a series of captioned photographs, each focussing
on a stage of production. In most cases it will be used for guided reading,
and as a prompt for wider discussion. As such it would make an ideal companion
to gift to a bicycle itself. Not only can the wheels provide a thrilling
entrée into the world of fast, self-managed travel, but also offer
an introduction to design, manufacture and marketing.
PS December 2008
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