Bicycle Madness by Jane Kurtz.
Illustrated by Beth Peck. (2003) Reading Level: Ages 8-12. 122 pages.
Henry Holt and Company. ISBN: 0-8050-6981-X.
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Bicycle Madness by Jane Kurtz
Illustrated by Beth Peck
In Bicycle Madness
Lillie finds her family's progressive neighbor, Miss Frances to be very
interesting but when her father expresses his disapproval Lillie is
caught in a dilemma. While the main episodes focus on Miss Frances's
efforts to learn to ride a bike it is her other activities fighting for
women's right to vote, child labor laws, and better conditions for
worker's that cause the townspeople in Evanston, Illinois to view
Frances Willard -- a member of Susan B. Anthony's circle -- as a
dangerous character.
Lillie's story in Bicycle Madness is extended by Beth Peck's black and white drawings.
Comments and Reviews
Classroom Connections
Thematic units focusing on bicycles, women in history, and voting rights will all connect to discussions of Bicycle Madness and those themes can also be incorporated into other areas of the curriculum. In addition Bicycle Madness and some of the links below can also contribute to activities:
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During May which is National Bicycle Month
and
- On September 28th which is Frances Willard Day (particularly in Wisconsin.)
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- Read about the background for this book.
- Frances Willard (1839-1898) left behind a career in education
to become involved full-time in her work for the temperance society and
for her other causes. She was also supportive of women having an active
role in the Methodist Church Read a short biography of her life
on a page of the General Commission on Archives and History of the
United Methodist Church. A somewhat long biography is available on the Women in America History by Encyclopedia Britannica site.
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- <>Research to find out why September 28th is Frances Willard Day -- what significance does the day have?
- Research to find out why Wisconsin honors Frances Willard with a day in her honor?
General and Introductory Links
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- Frances Willard is honored with a marble bust at Northwestern
University and with a marble statue in the United States Capitol
Building (1905). The statue became one of Illinois's two submissions to
Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. The statue of Willard was created by
Helen Farnsworth Mears.
- Each of the fifty states in the United States were invited to
submit a statue of two people notable in their state's history. A list
of these statues/people is available on the Architect of the Capitol website. Find out who represents YOUR state and then locate some information about those people:
- Few women/minorities are represented in the roster of statues. If
you were to select at least one woman and at least one person who
represents some diversity in culture/ethnic background who would you
select to represent your state? Write a brief paper explaining why you
made that particular selection.
- If you live in the states of Nevada, New Mexico, and North
Dakota, your state is eligible to select and donate at least one more
statue. Decide who that, in your opinion should be and begin a campaign
to have that person represented at the Federal capitol.
- A former Stanford and pro basketball player, Mariah Burton
Nelson is a professional speaker and the author of 5 books, including We Are All Athletes.
In 1980 she founded the Frances Willard Society in honor of Frances
Willard, a suffragist and the first woman to write a nonfiction book
about her sports experience: A Wheel Within a Wheel: A Woman's Quest for Freedom, 1895.
To date there are 130 members of the society which is open to all "who
write or plan to write about women and sports: fiction or nonfiction,
for academic or general audiences." Read about the society.
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- Frances Willard really did live in a house in Evanston, Illinois. Read about the house and the historical society that maintains this National Historic Landmark.
- Check for Frances E. Willard's book, A Wheel Within a Wheel: How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle: With Some Reflections by the Way in your local library. That is the book that Kurtz also used as a primary source and background for the historical facts in Bicycle Madness.
- Research information about Willard's friends: Susan B. Anthony, Florence Kelley, and Anna Gordon.
- In the book bloomers are mentioned several times. Research the
history of bloomers -- who are they named after and how did they
influence the women's right's movement?
- Read about Amelia Bloomer -- You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer!: A Very Improper Story by Shana Corey and illustrated by Chesley McLaren (Scholastic, 2000).
- Liddall, Marlane. "Yeah! But Can You Do a Wheelie on That?" Smithsonian Magazine (1996 September) Online at www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues96/sep96/bikes.html
this article is really a short essay about experimental bicycles.
Photos and basic information about nine "bicycles built to view."
- "The Bicycle and the Victorian Lady"
is an article that examines the connection between "precision
manufacturing and American popular culture. The adaptations that were
made to the bicycle and to clothing for women were all brought about
because of the emergence of the bicycle as a means of transportation.
- Professor Ross Perry has mounted a page of links to bicycle related websites
-- Professor Bicycle's Favorite Web Links--on his faculty page
associated with Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. His page of "Bicycle Related Web Sites" is part of an outline for a course titled The Bicycle: Vehicle for Societal Change..
Very interesting reading for those interested in the impact of the
bicycle on society -- including the role of women in society.
- May is Bicycle Month but the suggestions offered on the official bike week site
-- see what other communities are doing to promote the benefits of
bicycle riding. Download brochures and cycling activity suggestions.
- This Time Line of major bicycling events and personalities
covers more than two centuries of bicycling history (1860-current), and
is brought to you by the US Bicycling Hall of Fame as an educational
service.
- A brief history of bikes
from "The Walking Machines" to the current trends in bicycles --
including the Velocipede or Boneshaker, the High-Wheel Bicycle, and
others. The advent of the "The Pneumatic-Tired Safety" is often
credited with killing the bustle and the corset, and instituting
"common-sense dressing" for women and increasing their mobility
considerably. Read more about it from the history page of the Pedaling History Bicycle Museum site.
- Several related articles are posted on the history section of
"about.com." These articles all deal with women in history (and the
bicycle)
<>Research Links: Frances Willard
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Rock County Historical Society
P.O. Box 8096
Janesville, WI 53547-8096
Phone: (608) 756-4509
Kid Voting USA has a newsletter -- visit their site. Many links to other sites about voting.
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