I CANNOT DRAW A BICYCLE

In this sequel to I Cannot Draw a Horse (2022), an attempt to depict a bike results in hilarious chaos.

In the prequel, the offstage narrator was unable to draw a horse for a demanding feline protagonist, but in a twist, an equine character emerged by book’s end anyway. Harper closed that story with the horse wishing for a bicycle—a conclusion that serves as the catalyst for this picture book. Lo and behold, the narrator cannot draw a bicycle. Hijinks ensue as the horse and the skateboarding cat are confronted with substitutes, culminating in the revelation that no one—neither the narrator, the cat, nor the horse—actually knows what a bicycle looks like. It’s a silly surprise sure to inspire laughter in more knowledgeable readers. When attempts at making a bicycle fail, the pair decide to build a car from odds and ends provided by the narrator. Alas, “I cannot drive a car,” reads the last line of text, another punchline delivered by the horse. Will there be a trilogy with drivers ed steering the wheel of Book 3’s plot? Time will tell….As in the previous installment, Harper constructs characters out of simple shapes set against graph paper, giving the tale a DIY feel that will appeal to readers similarly uncertain about their own drawing prowess. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Witty, fourth-wall–breaking fun.