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Pedal Power by Allan Drummond

This book outlines the true story of a mum who wanted safer roads to bike on with her child back in 1970s Amsterdam. She, along with her friends, began peacefully protesting and slowly but amazingly changed Amsterdam from a car dominated city. It is now considered the capital city of cycling. It is a great little bit of history to share with young ones. It highlights just how powerful one woman can be and how a community can change a whole city for the better. ​
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​⚈​ 1 Play ideas  ⚈​ 2 Classroom Activities  ⚈​ 3 Links to more Resources
City streets chalk - Age 2+

Practise road safety without the roads! Grab your chalk and create your own little city with traffic lights and stop signs and anything else your kids want. Our city included 2-way traffic, construction signs and a traffic warden. It incorporates role playing, drawing, riding, safety and is lots of fun! 
Cross walk puzzles - Age 2+

Most children won't be riding their bikes in traffic, so reviewing the cross walk symbols is really important. Puzzles are so easy to make and adapt to any age child. We printed off the 'walking person' and 'wait hand' signs. Since they were for a toddler, we only cut them into 4 pieces. It is helpful to have the puzzle put together to start with so they can see the picture first (since there is no 'box' for these DIYs). Then mess them up and let them try! 
Letter sorting - Age 2.5+
This activity is appropriate for any child who is starting to recognise their first letter sounds. We used 'B' for bike as our starting point, but you could use any letter linked to any idea from a book you are currently exploring. Find items from around the house that your child knows the word for and a few that start with different letters. Ask the child if they know the letter sound first, to check if they remember it. Then hold up an object at a time and ask the name. ​​​Emphasise the letter sound at the beginning of each object. Depending on age, you can begin sorting objects into piles of those that start with the right sound and those that don't. Eventually this is a task that children can do on their own, once they are familiar with how it works. 
  • Learn more about the amazing main character
  • Discover which cities around the world are the best for biking
  • Look at statistics related to biking injuries in different cities
  • Link story to unit of study on environmental impact of cars vs bicycles
  • Participate in a biking safety course as a class
  • Write to local council or parliament about bike lanes in your area
Click below for other books and activities about biking: