Hero On A Bicycle

by Shirley Hughes

“Thirteen-year-old Paolo Crivelli dreams of being a hero in Nazi-occupied Florence. . . . A superb historical thriller.” —  Kirkus Reviews  (starred review)

Italy, 1944: Florence is occupied by Nazi forces. The Italian resistance movement has not given up hope, though — and neither have thirteen-year-old Paolo and his sister, Costanza. As their mother is pressured into harboring escaping POWs, Paolo and Costanza each find a part to play in opposing the German forces. Both are desperate to fight the occupation, but what can two siblings — with only a bicycle to help them — do against a whole army?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, War, Young Adult, Historical, Italy

224 pages, Library Binding

First published April 19, 2012

About the author

Shirley Hughes is the illustrator of more than two hundred children’s books and has won many prestigious awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal twice. She is the author-illustrator of DON'T WANT TO GO! and OLLY AND ME 1 2 3. She died at her home in London on the 25th of February, 2022.

Reviews

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to get this ARC, as I loved reading Hughes' "Alfie" books with my children and was interested to see what she would do with her first novel. The story is set late in World War II just outside of Nazi-occupied Florence, Italy. The heroic family are sympathetic to the Partisans (Babbo is off somewhere working with them) but cautiously keeping their sentiments under wraps, as their situation is perilous. Nonetheless, they become entangled in an effort to help prisoners of war escape and the 13-year-old Paolo and his older sister are traumatically exposed to the realities of war. Hughes' pacing is good and the subject is gripping, but her writing is not as masterful as in her picture books. It's as if she has too much to say and can't quite figure out what to leave out and what to expand upon. It's not a bad book...just not a great one.

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing about Shirley Hughes is that she's one of the authors that you think you know. And in a way, you do. When you think Shirley Hughes, you think of things like Dogger, of Alfie, of my Naughty Little Sister and her puckishly naughty face. She's a doyenne of children's literature and for good reason. Hughes has come to be one of those writers / illustrators that crosses borders and escapes the echo chamber and has become pretty much instantly recognisable to anybody who's ever had a kid, been a kid, or walked past a bookshop. You may not know her name but you definitely know her work.

And so, because of all of this, Hero on a Bicycle is really intriguing. It's her first novel which is quite amazing when you consider her output. Set in Florence in 1944, Paolo and his family are living in troubled times. Florence is under German occupation and it seems that only the Italian resistance is still fighting. But then things, well, they happen, and suddenly Paolo and his mother and sister are drawn into the fight alongside the partisans and against the occupiers.

I really loved this. There's a slightly old-fashioned feel to Hughes' writing which is gorgeous. It's all rich and warm and poignant. At points I found myself thinking of the incomparable The Railway Children. Constanza is definitely cut from the same cloth as my beloved Bobbie)

What I think works about this approach as well is that it allows Hughes to write about people and this is clearly where her strengths lie and have always done so. She's brilliant at writing the relationships and ties between people and focusing on the smallest of moments. I have a bit of a thing about authors who forget that even at the greatest, world-shifting moments, people still act as people. Hughes doesn't do that and I actually think that despite Paolo's obvious appeal, there's something great about Constanza in this book.

It's a warm, subtly told tale that doesn't hold back from the shadows of anything set in wartime. And the quote on the front of my copy, describing it as a 'new classic' is utterly spot on.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a change of scenery to read a book set in Italy during WWII. I don't know that I have read any other books set in WWII Italy.
An Excellent book overall. The romance story line seemed a bit forced, rushed and I feel could have been left out without detriment to the story or any character development. But otherwise, we all enjoyed this one immensely.

[VaultOfBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

By: Shirley Hughes. Grade: A

The title, Hero on a Bicycle, actually sounds a little strange when you hear it for the first time. But when I saw the pretty cover of the book, and read the well written and intriguing blurb, I was immediately interested. One, because I love history- especially that of the second World War period and Nazism. Two, because I haven't really read much material on how the Second World War impacted Italy- or any other European country apart from Germany, so I was just a little curious to find out.

In extraordinary circumstances, people are capable of extraordinary things… It is 1944 and Florence is occupied by Nazi


Hero On A Bicycle by Shirley Hughes
German forces. The Italian resistance movement has not given up hope, though – and neither have Paolo and his sister, Constanza. Both are desperate to fight the occupation, but what can two siblings do against a whole army with only a bicycle to help them?

So the story is mainly about a family, and how they survive and keep their political beliefs alive amidst an environment of increasing fear, helplessness and hopelessness. Paolo is a young boy who longs to help fight against the Nazi occupation of Germany, but cannot do much. His sister Constanza is trying not to expose how vulnerable she is by trying to maintain a charade of normality, whilst their mother is trying to keep her family safe and avoid suspicious questions about her husband's disappearance. The story is all about how they struggle together, as a family, and try to keep each other safe.



To begin with, I love the cover, especially the palette. The synopsis is well written, though it is a little short. It gives an interesting, though very brief and un-detailed description of the story.

I love the way the author writes- her narrative style is great and keeps one engrossed, even if the book is meant for slightly younger readers. The story itself is beautiful and is beautifully told as well.



The characters are vibrant, and since the author drew inspiration from an actual family she met, they also come across as real. The premises of the novel are amazing and the imagery the author uses is wonderful. It made me long to go to Italy and tour the beautiful country.

I also liked the way that the characters matured gradually, and developed. The development was gradual and believable throughout the novel and so, even though the characters changed and matured from the first page till the last, it never felt sudden or sporadic. The evolution of the protagonists, in my opinion, especially of the kids- from children to adults- was the best part of the book.

I like history too, so that was another thing that worked in the book's favor for me. Also, the story is pretty inspiring, and it's been a while since I've read something like it so I enjoyed reading it.

If I had to nitpick, I would say that sometimes, the novel felt a little stretched and a little boring. It couldn't keep me awake till late at night trying to finish it, so I wish the tempo could've been just a little bit more, but it wasn't so bad so as to ruin the entire story either.

All in all, Hero on a Bicycle is a good book, definitely readable, and I would recommend it to all the history buffs out there.



Originally reviewed at http://vaultofbooks.com/

[Terri Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This "children's book" is entirely appropriate for young adults and adults of all ages. During World War 2 in Florence, Italy, Rosemary Crivelli is an English woman married to an Italian man Franco and the mother of two teens- 17 year old Constanza and 13 year old Paolo. Franco had to run off to hide because of the Gestapo in Nazi occupied Florence so Rosemary has to look after herself, her two kids, the housekeeper/cook Maria, and their elderly dog Guido.

It's a hard life with food rationing and Nazis all about and worrying about Franco but it gets worse (much worse). The Nazis are already suspicious of them because Rosemary was born in England and because Franco has been with the Partisans, a violent group of anti-Nazi underground men. The Allies are making their way to Florence and tensions are high. I would like to rename this "Young Idiot on a Bicycle" because Paolo is a fool. All he did the whole time was sneak out at night (despite the curfew and martial law), ride into town on his bicycle, follow Partisans on his bicycle (and got beaten up for his trouble), and even follow Nazis. This boy is just super stupid and causes his mother, sister, and the housekeeper endless grief.

On one of Paolo's nightly jaunts, he is accosted by armed Partisans who send a cryptic message to his mother. She and her family are to hide a British and a Canadian who escaped from the Nazis. They do so but are so damned obvious about it, soon Nazis are there searching the cellar and house. When dumb ass Paolo insists on leading them to the Partisans, it is a trap, one man is captured, the other gets shot, Paolo almost gets shot, and has to drag the wounded guy back home which of course leads to Nazis coming again as what other idiot is always pedaling around on a bicycle and being conspicuous?

I got pissed off at how they claimed to love the old dog Guido but he only got fed a few scraps each morning, stayed chained to a dog house all the time, and in the end got murdered by a Nazi because the Crivellis wasted time and didn't get the soldier out of there fast enough and he was hiding in the dog's house.

I recommend the book to those who like excitement and mystery and who enjoy WW2 history. It is a good read. It was recommended to me by the librarians at my local public library.

[Melissapalmer404 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #83 Read in 2013
Hero on a Bicycle by Shirley Hughes (YA)

This book is set in Florence, Italy in 1944 and tells of the Nazi occupation in that country. Paolo is a young boy whose father is a soldier and has left him in charge of the family. He longs for action and adventure but when he gets some in his life, it is slightly more than he bargained for. Paolo's mother is English and is doing her own war duty in their hometown. This book was a good, quick historical fiction read, especially for middle school boys. There was action enough to keep the book moving at a good pace. Also, with Paolo's sister and her attraction to a Canadian soldier, there was enough romance to hook girls as readers too. I enjoyed it.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Italy 1944 during the Nazi occupation, Paolo's father is off with the Partisans or so he thought, Paolo, his sister Constanza and his mother are trying to survive the war as best they can. He trys to help by attempting to join the Partisans but he is to young they say, then the Partisans ask his mother if they will take in two allied airman and Paolo's adventures begin, an excellent well written book and well worth a read.

[The Book Queen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a long time ago, and I can't remember if I liked it or not, so I'm giving it three stars.

[Francesca Ranck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute, would read again

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm fairly clued up about the Resistance in France in WWII, but far less so about the situation of the partisans in Italy, so I seized upon this story by Shirley Hughes - her first for older children. Its main characters are two teenage children in Florence left with their English mother as their partisan father is - who knows here? - involved in the anti-Fascist struggle. There's also 13 year old Paolo's dog, and even more crucially, his bicycle. Hughes paints a convincing picture of a life of privation and fear under occupation, and makes clear that it's far too simple to think of war as being Goodies versus Baddies. It's a story of love and fear that should provoke thought as well as excite the imagination of its target readership. It would make a cracking film, too.

[Ruth Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this in Ernie's room and it caught my attention as I didn't realise Shirley Hughes wrote fiction for older children.
It is about a family living in occupied Florence during the Second World War. The Hero is Paolo, a thirteen year old boy, who at the start of the novel sneaks out on his bike at night, just to feel something.
There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the story and it held my interest - I wanted to know what happened next. Lots of the characters have their own stories to tell, and they are intertwined nicely with the story of Paolo's family. The story does not shy away from the harsh realities of war.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 1944 in Florence, Italy. Paolo and Constanza's mother has become involved with the partisans, somewhat unwillingly. She is helping to hide soldiers. But if they are caught by the Nazis, the results will be disastrous, even deadly. Paolo and Constanza are also in danger. Tension (but with little actual violence), history, characterization...all help make this a worthwhile read for middle grade students.

[Brevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nerve racking and had me clinging to it on our way to the cabin.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The events in Italy during WWII aren't often written about in kidlit. To date, I have only written about two books where the action takes place in Italy. The first was Stones in Water by Donna Jo Napoli, an MG story about an Italian boy rounded up in the cinema while watching an American cowboy movie and sent to work in a labor camp in Germany. The second was the excellent picture book I Will Come Back for You by Marisabina Russo, about how a young Jewish girl and her family were helped to survive in hiding in Italy despite the strict anti-Semitic laws.

Well, now, thanks to the prolific British children's author Shirley Hughes, another story set in Italy had been told. Hero on a Bicycle begins in 1944 in Florence. Paolo Crivelli, 13, lives with his British mother Rosemary, older sister Constanza, 16, his now very old beloved dog Guido and his bicycle. His Italian father is an outspoken anti-Fascist, forced into hiding so no one, not even his family, knows his whereabouts.

Now, with nothing to do since the schools are closed and his friends have all left Florence, Paolo sneaks out of the house every night and rides his bicycle around the city despite the curfew. Meanwhile, his mother lies in bed worrying about whether he will make it home.

One night, Paolo is stopped by some rough looking men with rifles. They have a message for his mother and want him to give it to her: they are in the area and will be getting in touch - tomorrow night if they can - the usual way. The next night Paolo follows his mother as she heads to her meeting with the strangers. As he watches, he realizes they are partisans and they want his mother to shelter two Allied airmen -a Brit and a Canadian - until they can get them to safety.

But there are rumors about Rosemary Crivelli and one Sunday, the Gestapo shows up and searches the house from top to bottom. Luckily, the Crivelli's had a warning this was going to happen and were able to hide the airmen. In fact, as the war in and around Florence heats up and the Allied forces get closer, the occupying German get more and more desperate and cruel. And Paolo, who had earlier tried to join the partisans but was embarrassingly rejected, finally gets his wish do something for them when it is decided that he will be their guide to a safe house in the center of Florence. But is a 13 year old boy up to the task of a grown man in order to save the lives of these two Allied airmen?

Hero on a Bicycle is a real coming of age novel, but I can't say it totally grabbed me. I just didn't connect with any of the characters. I actually found them to be flat. forced and quite frankly, unbelievable. What was believable, however, were the descriptions of Florence and its surroundings, and the deprivations that the ordinary citizens suffered - for example, the Crivelli's were always hungry like everyone in WWII, while the best food went to the occupiers and it is interesting to read how careful Paolo was about protecting his bicycle tires, since there were no replacements if they got ruined. Although, by 1944, I am surprised they were still OK given Paolo's heavy duty riding all the time.

And I am usually fond of books about partisans, but not this one. I found Hughes' portrayal of them to be just plain of mean at time, especially towards a family and child of a man who is probably a fellow resistance fighter, as the family suspects he is. And I thought they were a little to easy for Paolo to find, but not the Germans, which didn't make sense.

There are some pleasant surprises, though, and certainly some very heart-pounding moments, as when the German lieutenant, attracted to Constanza, finds a discarded Lucky Strike packet during his search of the house. Or when Paolo must help the airmen and everything goes wrong. This is a first novel for the 85 year old Hughes and I would still recommend Hero on a Bicycle in part because of its lovely Italian setting but with reservations as far as the plot goes.

A word about the illustrations at the head of every chapter: Hughes is an artist and she had done these illustrations herself and they are wonderful black and white pencil drawing

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

This review was orginally published at The Children's War

[Isaac Zaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Title:Hero On a Bicycle
Book’s author: Shirley Hughes
I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

I recommend this book because it shows the struggles of being a civilian on the German side of the war as they started to lose the 2nd world war. I think more young adults should read this book because it follows a story of a young adult in the middle of a war. This book is also very easy to relate to if you are also a young adult.

This book is about a boy named Paolo and his family during world war two. The story follows Paolo as they go against the German army and harbor a Canadian prisoner of war in the middle of battle. Throughout the book the family faces many challenges doing this task and encounters many close calls. It takes place in Florence, Italy during world war two in the year 1944. It takes place over a few months and weeks. The main conflict in the book was that the family having to harbor a partisan ally and protect him from Germans and their army. The conflict was resolved by the end of the book when the Germans lost Florence to the Americans. During this time they finally get the prisoner back to ally hands and then they just have to ride out the war. My favorite quote from this book was: “‘We seem to be very near the front line’....’Signora, you are on the front line.’” A German officer said this to the mother of Paolo in the end of the story and this was to tell her she was too late getting away after saving the ally. This is my favorite because it shows the most climactic part of the book and introduces the final stretch.

I enjoyed the writer’s style of writing because he got very to the point and didn't try to add in unnecessary filler content to lengthen the book and its story. He also made it so there wasn't anything to branch off the main story and just stuck with it the entire book.

Over all I enjoyed the book because it was a quick easy read and It fit my really messy time frames. It had an interesting story and I would definitely read it again sometime.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shirley Hughes' picture books for children are true works of literature. They have a particular pace that I did see echoes of in this work for young adults but the novel doesn't stand out in the way her picture book stories do. It is a decent enough tale - a bit different in that it is Italian children in WWII - and there was plenty of suspense. I enjoyed the lack of over-simplification - the brutality of the Partisans, the reluctance of the children's mother to help, the relationship with Contanza's friend Hilaria. It would make a wonderful film (nice opportunities for scenery porn in and around Florence) but I don't think it will stay in my memory in the way that Dogger or Alfie Gets In First do, even though those are about much smaller events in the general scheme of things.

[Hayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a strange little book. I love Shirley Hughes' picture books, but I'm not sure about this transition to books for older readers. Though the subject matter should really make it a middle school read, the somewhat simple text and sparse plot make it more suitable for upper elementary grades; and the theme that good guys can be bad and vice versa is very simplistically presented. The constant switching of POV feels odd, and I just didn't feel engaged by any of the characters. Based on a true story, this is a little like a Shadow on the Mountain for younger readers.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Sentence Review: Historical fiction is enormously difficult to write to begin with so I can hardly blame this book for being quite as slow as it is, but I did find it hard to keep going, even though it's chock full of elements that by all rights SHOULD have been gripping.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting war story about a young teen fighting with the partisans in World War II Italy.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

set in Italy
WWII
not England
or Germany
POV from different place
interesting?

[Dale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was about a third of the way through the audiobook before I realised I wasn't really paying attention at all. Storyline really didn't grab my interest at all.

[Thilini Kasthuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

අලුත් වීරයෙක් - Hero on a bycicle

රටකට වීරයන් අවශ්‍යම යි. විශේෂයෙන්ම පණ ගැහෙමින් සිටිනා රටකට. වීරයන් තමා මිනිස්සුන්ගේ හදවත් ආපහු පාරක් ජාතිකාභීමානයෙන් වාගේම ස්වාභීමානයෙන් පුරවන්නේ කලින් කලට. ඉතින් වීරයෙකු වීමට කිසිදු වයස් හෝ ස්ත්‍රී පුරුෂ භේදයක් අවශ්‍යම ද? උත්තරය නම් නැත යන්නයි. වීරයෙකු වීමට අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ එඩිතර මෙන්ම ස්වාධීන හදවතක් සහ සුවපත් මනසක් පමණි. එසේ නම් වීරයෙකු වීමට තමාගේ ජීවිතය පුද කල යුතුමද? සැබවින්ම නැත. එසේ නම් අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ සුලු ප්‍රතික්‍රියාවක් පමණි.

ලෝක ඉතිහාසය තුල මිනිස්සුන්ට අමාරුම කාල පැමිණි පසු ඔවුන්ට සිදු වෙනවා අකමැත්තෙන් හෝ ඊට මුහුණ දීමට සහ නොනැ���ී ජීවිතය රැක ගැනීමට. දෙවෙනි ලෝක යුද සමය කියන්නේ ඒ වගේ අමාරුම කාලයක් මේ ලෝකෙට තිබුනු. දෙවෙනි ලෝක යුද සමය අළලා ඉතාලිය ගැන ලියලා තියෙන කතා අඩු වූවත්, මේ ඒ කාලේ ඉතාලියේ ෆ්ලොරන්ස් වල ක්‍රිවෙල්ලී පවුලේ කතාව ගැන තමා මේ කියන්න යන්නේ.

පාවුලෝ අවුරුදු 13ක යොවුන් දරුවෙක්. ඔහුගේ අක්කා කොන්ස්ටන්සා. මව රොස්මරි ක්‍රිවෙල්ලී නෝනා.

පාවුලෝ කියන්නේ එඩිතර කොල්ලෙක්. එයාට මේ වීර ක්‍රියාව කරන්න තියෙන්නේ බයිසිකලයක් විතරයි. එයාට පුලුවන් වෙනවා අවශ්‍යම මොහොතේදී අවශ්‍යම පියවර ගන්න. එහෙමයි එයා පුංචි වීරයෙක් බවට පත් වෙන්නේ.

ඒ වගේම තමා කොන්ස්ටන්සා. ඒ කියන්නේ පාවුලෝගේ අක්කා. මේ යුද සමයේ තරුණ ගෑනූ දරුවෙක්ට සමාජ ඇසුරින් දුරස් වෙලා ඉන්නවා කියන්නේ හරිම අමාරු දෙයක්. යොවුන් වියත් සමග දරුවෝ බලන්නේ සමාජය එක්ක සමවයස් කණ්ඩායම් සමග මුහු වෙන්නයි. නමුත් කොන්ස්ටන්සාට ද අමාරුම කාලයක් මේක. සිද්ධ වෙන හැම දෙයක් දිහාම ඉවසීමෙන් බලාගෙන ඉන්න ඇය තමාට රට වෙනුවෙන් කිරීමට ඇති උපරීමය කිරීමට තරම් එඩිතර හිතක් උරුම යොවුන් දැරියක්.

මේ කතාවේ එන ආදර්ශමත්ම චරිතය තමා රොස්මරී ක්‍රිවෙල්ලී නෝනා. එහෙම නැත්නම් පාවුලෝගෙයි, කොන්ස්ටන්සාගෙයි අම්මා. ඇය නිර්භීත අම්මා කෙනෙක්. රෝස්මරී නෝනාට පුලුවන් තමුන්ගේ යොවුන් දරුවන්ගේ මනස ක්‍රියාකරන ආකාරය පිලිබද හොදම වැටහීමෙන් සහ ඉවසීමෙන් ඒ දෙස බලා සිටින්න. ඒ නිසායි පාවුලෝටයි කොන්ස්ටන්සාට යි වීරයෝ වෙන්න ලැබෙන්නේ. අභියෝග බාර ගන්න තමුන්ගේ දරුවොන්ට නිදහස දෙන්න පුලුවන් තරම් විශ්වාසයක් රෝස්මරීගේ හිත තුල තිබුනු බව නිසැකයි. එහෙම නොවුනා නම් කවදාවත් පාවුලෝටවත් කොන්ස්ටන්සාටවත් වීරයන් වන්නට ලැබෙන්නේ නෑ. ඒ නිසා තමයි පුළුල් මනසක් සහිත උදාර දෙමාපියන් සිටිය යුත්තේ වීරයන් බිහි වීමට නම්. ඒ වගේ ම තමා වීරයන් බිහි කරන්න නම් එඩිතර ස්වාධීන හදවත් සහ සුවපත් මනස් තිබිය යුතුමයි.

පාවුලෝගේ එඩිතර හදවතයි, කොන්ස්ටැන්සාගේ ශක්තිමත් හදවතයි, රොස්මරී ක්‍රිවෙල්ලී නෝනාගේ නිර්භීතකමත් එක්ක දේශ ප්‍රේමීන්ට උදවු කරන්න තරම් දැවැන්ත නිර්භය කමක් එක්ක තමා මේ කතාව දිව යන්නේ. ඔවුන්ගේ වීරත්වය ගැන දැනගන්න නම් තවත් නම් කතාව ඉදිරියටත් කියවන්නම වෙනවා.

විශේෂයෙන්ම මේ කතාව සීමිත පිටු ගණනකට සීමා වුනත් එහි ඇති අභ්‍යන්තර අගය කියා නිම කල නොහැකිය. එනම්, වීර කතා හිග අපේ රටේ යොවුන් දරුවන්ට අරන් කියවන්න නිර්දේශ කල යුතු පොතක් බව නම් නොකියාම බැරිය.

සරළ, සුගම කතා විලාසයකින් ගලා යන මේ කතාව රශ්මික මණ්ඩාවල මහතාගේ පරිවර්තනයක්.

අලුත් වීරයෙක් - Hero on a bycicle
කතෲ - ශර්ලී හගිස්
පරිවර්තනය - රශ්මික මණ්ඩාවල
ප්‍රකාශකයෝ - සුසර

[Rodger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a family just outside of Florence Italy and takes place in 1944 during World War 2. The Nazis had occupied Italy, so locals had to support the occupying Nazi administration or be a target. Meanwhile, the Allies and Partisans were liberating Italy bit by bit. Helping them was very dangerous, yet necessary. This book showed how living in this area would require locals to switch loyalty based on who is occupying. The war really came to them.

The name of the book implies that a bicyclist does some heroic act as the central theme for the book. Paolo, the 13 year old boy of this family, loved riding his bicycle and naively wanted to be a hero. Here's a quote about bike riding: "Bike rides now simply offered him a chance to be on his own, to try to get his thoughts in order." P. 212

However, it's just as much about the heroics of Paolo's mom (Rosemary) and 16 year old sister (Constanza) too. The book is written in third person and shares the thoughts of all three family members. It seemed a little cheesy that Constanza had a couple love interests. They were a religious (Catholic) family and I really liked that the mom acknowledged God's help. Quote: "'We managed' was all Rosemary said. But then she added 'By the grace of God.'" p. 210.

Content considerations:
War related killing and deaths;
One instance of the 'h' word.

This book has a preface, but not an afterword, end note or epilogue. The preface offers some historical insight and refers to more resources at a website for this book. However, this website no longer exists. The URL redirects to a page that promotes this book, but does not have the resources mentioned.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5* I would have given up on this book by page 35 if my husband hadn't read it first and recommended it to me. It was a painful beginning. It is the author's debut novel and it is more apparent than is always the case. There is a preface (not a prologue) that should have been at the end as an Author's Note. It confuses the reader and you think is part of the story but it is actually an author's explanation.

My number one complaint about the writing is it is hard to tell who is talking as it frequently switches POV with no warning and you can't tell. It makes for choppy and frustrating reading. The second half was more engaging but not great. Some other things that frustrated me were the main character's sneaking around and lying. It points out his mother and sister know, but don't tell him, and explains his rational but I didn't like it. It was hard to read about the Partisans, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to like them or get behind their cause because if so it didn't work for me. I distrusted them and felt they leaned towards violence.

I did like that it was set in Florence but would have liked more of a sense of place, it was moderate. I liked Rosemary and Constanza, their strength and quick thinking. I felt for Helmut and Joe and got a sense of the difficulty of multiple sides fighting the war.

CCs: at least 2x h*, Lord's name in vain, smoking, overly descriptive death of family pet, a child about to witness a firing squad execution

[Anna Mussmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

My whole family loves Shirley Hughes’ picture books, so I was quite curious to find out what her first novel is like.

It’s pretty engaging, and it mostly conveys Hughes’ observant, warm, understated style. It’s set in Italy at the end of WWII--a place and time in history that isn’t often covered in fiction for young readers. I appreciated the author’s attempt to address the human dimensions of the war. The heroic Italian partisans were also ruthless and politically divided, not all German soldiers were cruel, and anti-Nazi civilians weren’t necessarily eager to sacrifice or risk their lives. Yet the author isn't trying to portray the world as overly sordid, amoral, or hopeless. She strikes a healthy balance.

On the other hand, I’m not fully sure who is the best audience for this book. It’s marketed as middle grade fiction, but the POV is divided between a thirteen-year-old, a seventeen-year-old, and an adult (the kids’ mother, whose fears and thoughts receive equal page space). In some ways, it feels as if this story is modeled more on the conventions of a certain type of movie or miniseries than on the typical format of a MG novel. Possibly this has something to do with the author being a illustrator and therefore, presumably, a highly visual person. Some young readers will enjoy it as-is anyway, but for others, it might work best as a family read-aloud.

[Alexandra Topitzes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Level: 6.0

Book Level/ Guided Reading Level: X

Hero on a Bicycle is an inspiring Historical Fiction chapter book chronicling the brave quest of a teenage Italian boy during the World War II. The lively dialogue and descriptive narration, enhanced with a slight Italian flare, paints a vibrant picture for readers as Paolo and his friend Constanza are coerced into aiding the anti-Nazi resistance.

This book would be an ideal read aloud for upper elementary grades to explore the genre of historical fiction in English Language Arts, or to include in Social Studies lessons on the World War II. Within those lessons, the teacher could incorporate further English Language Arts instruction by using Hero on a Bicycle to model comprehension strategies like visualizing, summarizing, inferencing and so on. On an individual basis, this would be a great book for a teacher to recommend to a student who shows has an interest in history for independent reading.

Additionally, this text would also be a good mentor text to demonstrate the writing traits of ideas, conventions, organization, and word choice for students during writing workshop mini lessons. It could also serve as an example for students on creating dialogue and the conventions that accompany it as a writing lesson.

[Megan Franks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hero on a Bicycle short and sweet story about a fictional Italian family who aided the Allies during World War II. So many times we only hear about the front lines in France, but the liberation of Italy (specifically Florence) is retold in this novel giving a unique perspective. It’s written for middle grades though most of the main characters are teens. This makes a good YA selection. Though it was shelved in the Juvenile fiction section of my library, I would probably only recommend it for advanced middle grade readers. I particularly appreciated the inclusion of the family’s faith; there is a particularly poignant moment when the mom has to extend forgiveness to a neighbor that is recognized as an act of Christian charity. The author tackles difficult war-time scenes of death and fear without being so descriptive that it might cause emotional trauma for young readers (except for the tragic death of the family dog—so sad). This would be a nice selection to add to a classroom read-aloud for a study of WWII.

[Miss Meliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book. It had a little bit of everything -- danger, adventure, sacrifice, betrayal, a little romance. I enjoyed it as an adult (realizing I wasn't necessarily the target audience), but I think it especially appealed to my 9-year-old and 12-year-old. The story focuses on a young teenage boy and his older teenage sister and their decisions in a specific turning point in history. There are moments of peril, including gun violence and death, that could bother younger children. The audiobook is narrated by a Brit who reads at a rather brisk pace (and implements Italian accents effectively), and that required a little adjustment from my kids. Some portions of the narration were simply too difficult for my 6-year-old to understand, which I felt thankful for in the end. But all in all, I recommend this book to help any growing readers above 8-9 years old engage a little deeper with what life in occupied Italy in WWII was like and what decisions older children may have been faced with in that time.

[Corey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful.

This book was extremely slow, extremely boring, and used a lot of words to say very little.

There was not one but TWO romance subplots between the "sixteen, almost seventeen" year old sister character and ADULT MEN. One of those adult men being an NAZI solider who "doesn't always agree with Nazi high command"

The author went out of her way to try and both sides Nazis and the general axis powers which was both a weird choice in a book about aiding an Italian resistance group and also generally just kinda gross to do in a book aimed a children. The demographic this is aimed at is not mature enough to comprehend the nuance of WW2.

She also conflates Nazis sympathizers (not active collaborators) and active collaborators, acting as though they're the same level of bad (as in she actively downplays the horrific nature of active collaboration)

Don't waste your time. There are dozens and dozens of better written WW2 stories for children and young adults out there that handle the topic in more interesting, nuanced, and tactful ways.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a bit skeptical at first knowing this was the first novel Shirley Hughes wrote after her wonderful children's books. But I was more than pleasantly rewarded when I read the book in one sitting, my mind riveted and glued to the story not being able to put it down until I finished it!

The author seemed to capture the difficulties, sorrow, confusion, hardships, courage and bravery for each character, what it must have been like at the end of WWII, in Florence, Italy. Her descriptions of the Italian country setting made me feel as if I was there. Obviously not as descriptive as an adult book, but great for children or young adults (or older like me) to feel transported there.

The romance that came out for the coming of age for the seventeen-year-old daughter was done in a beautiful way. I would have no problem reading this to children ages 11 and up.

Great first novel, Shirley Hughes!