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    The Bicycle Girl: Jyoti Kumari's Amazing Journey Across India

    (A True Story of Bravery, Determination, and Family Love Set in India During the Pandemic - For Kids Ages 4-7)

    Author Garen Thomas, Suhasini Raj
    Illustrated by Maithili Joshi
    Look inside
    Hardcover
    $19.99 US
    Candlewick
    8.63"W x 11.38"H x 0.4"D   | 16 oz | 30 per carton
    On sale Jan 27, 2026 | 40 Pages | 9781536233605
    Age 4-7 years | Preschool - 2
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    "[An] inspiring variation on the archetypal hero’s journey in which personal courage, family loyalty, and the broader cultural context all play equally strong roles." —School Library Journal

    Beautifully illustrated with scenes of contemporary Indian life, this inspiring (and true) story follows a young girl's remarkable bicycle journey across India to bring her father safely home as pandemic restrictions take hold.

    It’s early in the pandemic in India. The trains have been shut down to prevent contagion. For Jyoti, as for millions of migrant workers, getting home with her injured father will require enormous ingenuity and gumption. Follow the real-life story of a girl who—desperate for her father to survive—rode almost a thousand miles across India with him on the back of a hot-pink twenty-dollar bicycle. Her amazing story, relayed for a young audience by author Garen Thomas and reporter Suhasini Raj, is a portrait of an unassuming girl who made an extraordinary decision and became celebrated across India, breaking entrenched stereotypes of caste and gender. This story of love, determination, problem-solving, and a pink bicycle will speak to young people everywhere.
    • SELECTION | 2026
      Junior Library Guild Selection
    [An] inspiring variation on the archetypal hero’s journey in which personal courage, family loyalty, and the broader cultural context all play equally strong roles.
    —School Library Journal

    Joshi’s zingy digital illustrations in bold, saturated colors incorporate fantastical elements including Hindu gods and goddesses, while Thomas and Raj’s concise text incorporates many references to Hinduism contextualized through illustrative details. . . . A stirring demonstration of what we’re truly capable of when we believe in ourselves.
    —Kirkus Reviews

    The illustrations depict Jyoti’s interior journey—buoyed by gods, spirits, and nonhuman life-forms—as she pushes forward and ultimately succeeds. Back matter provides important context and details about this remarkable young woman and her deep-rooted resilience.
    —Booklist

    Jyoti’s inspirational real-life feat contains moments both sweet and thrilling, with the story and images working together particularly well when determination lights up her eyes as she fills “herself with the aag of Kali,” and her bike turns into a tiger, morphing her into a sort of love-fueled superhero. . . .Young readers will cheer to learn that Jyoti’s perseverance earned her international acclaim, easing her family’s financial burdens.
    —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

    Across saturated scenes, Joshi’s lushly rendered digital illustrations incorporate Indian motifs and Hindu iconography. . . .
    —Publishers Weekly
    Garen Thomas is the author of the New York Times best-selling children’s book Yes We Can: A Biography of President Barack Obama and worked as a kids’ book editor for Scholastic and Disney-Hyperion and its imprint Jump at the Sun, among other publishers. She lives in New York City.

    Suhasini Raj is a New Delhi–based reporter in the South Asia bureau of The New York Times. She has covered everything from the rise of Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi to how India fared with COVID-19 to gender justice and climate change. In 2021, she and her colleagues won a Human Rights Press Award for a video revealing the plight of stateless Muslims in India.
    Garen Thomas View titles by Garen Thomas
    Suhasini Raj View titles by Suhasini Raj
    Maithili Joshi View titles by Maithili Joshi

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    About

    "[An] inspiring variation on the archetypal hero’s journey in which personal courage, family loyalty, and the broader cultural context all play equally strong roles." —School Library Journal

    Beautifully illustrated with scenes of contemporary Indian life, this inspiring (and true) story follows a young girl's remarkable bicycle journey across India to bring her father safely home as pandemic restrictions take hold.

    It’s early in the pandemic in India. The trains have been shut down to prevent contagion. For Jyoti, as for millions of migrant workers, getting home with her injured father will require enormous ingenuity and gumption. Follow the real-life story of a girl who—desperate for her father to survive—rode almost a thousand miles across India with him on the back of a hot-pink twenty-dollar bicycle. Her amazing story, relayed for a young audience by author Garen Thomas and reporter Suhasini Raj, is a portrait of an unassuming girl who made an extraordinary decision and became celebrated across India, breaking entrenched stereotypes of caste and gender. This story of love, determination, problem-solving, and a pink bicycle will speak to young people everywhere.

    Awards

    • SELECTION | 2026
      Junior Library Guild Selection

    Praise

    [An] inspiring variation on the archetypal hero’s journey in which personal courage, family loyalty, and the broader cultural context all play equally strong roles.
    —School Library Journal

    Joshi’s zingy digital illustrations in bold, saturated colors incorporate fantastical elements including Hindu gods and goddesses, while Thomas and Raj’s concise text incorporates many references to Hinduism contextualized through illustrative details. . . . A stirring demonstration of what we’re truly capable of when we believe in ourselves.
    —Kirkus Reviews

    The illustrations depict Jyoti’s interior journey—buoyed by gods, spirits, and nonhuman life-forms—as she pushes forward and ultimately succeeds. Back matter provides important context and details about this remarkable young woman and her deep-rooted resilience.
    —Booklist

    Jyoti’s inspirational real-life feat contains moments both sweet and thrilling, with the story and images working together particularly well when determination lights up her eyes as she fills “herself with the aag of Kali,” and her bike turns into a tiger, morphing her into a sort of love-fueled superhero. . . .Young readers will cheer to learn that Jyoti’s perseverance earned her international acclaim, easing her family’s financial burdens.
    —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

    Across saturated scenes, Joshi’s lushly rendered digital illustrations incorporate Indian motifs and Hindu iconography. . . .
    —Publishers Weekly

    Author

    Garen Thomas is the author of the New York Times best-selling children’s book Yes We Can: A Biography of President Barack Obama and worked as a kids’ book editor for Scholastic and Disney-Hyperion and its imprint Jump at the Sun, among other publishers. She lives in New York City.

    Suhasini Raj is a New Delhi–based reporter in the South Asia bureau of The New York Times. She has covered everything from the rise of Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi to how India fared with COVID-19 to gender justice and climate change. In 2021, she and her colleagues won a Human Rights Press Award for a video revealing the plight of stateless Muslims in India.
    Garen Thomas View titles by Garen Thomas
    Suhasini Raj View titles by Suhasini Raj
    Maithili Joshi View titles by Maithili Joshi

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