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

This beautifully illustrated chapter book tells the true, inspiring story of Jyoti Kumari, a young girl in India who, during the early days of the pandemic, undertook an extraordinary bicycle journey. With trains shut down and her father injured, Jyoti rode nearly a thousand miles across India with him on the back of her pink bicycle to bring him safely home. The narrative, relayed by reporter Suhasini Raj and author Garen Thomas, celebrates Jyoti's ingenuity, gumption, and unwavering love for her father. It also subtly addresses themes of social inequality, breaking gender and caste stereotypes, and the resilience of the human spirit. This book is perfect for sparking conversations about courage, family bonds, and overcoming adversity, suitable for children aged 4-11.

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 reporter Suhasini Raj and author Garen Thomas, 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.