The Brave Cyclist tells the story of Gino Bartali, a poor and frail Italian boy who became a champion cyclist and won the Tour de France twice. The sickly child didn't just grow up to be a winning athlete, but he also became a brave hero who risked his life by transferring forged ID's inside his bike's frame to give Jewish people new identities and rescue them from Mussolini and Hitler during World War II.

The theme of the book is that determination, perseverance and believing in what's right helped Gino Bartali become both a champion, and a righteuss man among the nations.

Chiara Fedele's illustrations complement the book perfectly - they accurately depict Italian scenery and convey the mood during WWII, and portray Gino's emotions with his expressions. I also love the illustration technique utilizing Van Gogh like brush strokes.


Thank you, Capstone Publishing, for providing me an arc via NetGalley.

What an inspirational story and so beautifully delivered in words and pictures! I have no doubt that young readers will love learning about Gino Bartali, his determination and successes as a cyclist, and even more his courage and bravery in helping Cardinal Dalla Costa in saving Jewish families from Mussolini and the Nazis in Italy during World War II. The author does a wonderful job in allowing young readers to access such a challenging topic as the Holocaust in an age-appropriate way. The beautiful illustrations and the detailed afterword are an extra bonus, making this book a real gem. A great addition to any primary school library collection looking to diversify their biography section.

The Brave Cyclist is not your typical picture book. It tells the true story of Gino Bartali who was a small child who ended up winning the Tour de France twice in his lifetime and also became an important figure in World War II by helping to save the Jewish people of Italy. I did not know Gino’s story until I read this picture book. It shows how drive and determination really can help one person make a difference in a time of need. Gino would ride his bicycle 110 miles one way and he was even jailed for something he did not do. He not only risked his life, he also risked his family’s life.

There is an afterward included that informs us of Gino’s life. His story is well known in Italy, Gino’s hard work deserves recognition in history books worldwide. This story is aimed for children ages 9-12 and should be included in World War II coursework. This book needs to be in school libraries!

The only critique I can offer is that some pages the text takes up most of the page, so it may be a bit much for a picture book, but the well done illustrations definitely compliment the story.

Special thanks to Capstone for granting me an e-arc via NetGalley.

I received an arc of this title for an honest review. This story needs to be shared with all kids though they may find it tedious and long. The message is important and the pictures are amazing, it just may need to be a book that its read bit by bit, rather than all at once.

This book will be a great inspiration for children who do not believe they can achieve. It is the true story of the life of Gino Bartali, twice winner of the Tour de France. It explains his poor upbringing and how he worked and saved to buy his first bike and how with determination he managed to achieve such great success in cycling. It also explains his heroism in secretly transporting documents across Italy in order to help Jewish people who were in danger and needed to escape harm. A fascinating insight with great illustrations. Thank you to Net galley and the publisher, Capstone, for an ARC.

A very interesting and informative book that young readers would particularly be attracted to due to the vibrant colors and solid information.

The book misses the mark, not in the story, per se, but in the layout. Text is rather small and pages seen dense. While some of the spreads have intriguing artwork, this book would be difficult to use as a read aloud.

I received an electronic ARC from Capstone through NetGalley.
Biography of Gino Bartali for elementary level readers.
The book takes readers from Bartali's childhood through his final Tour de France victory following World War II. Hoffman shares the danger involved in Bartali's decision to aid the Cardinal and provide false papers for Jewish people living in Italy. He rode many miles on his bike to save other people.
The illustrations bring the information to life for younger readers.
The text offers the information in a simple to read story format.
More information is provided at the end of the book.

This is a beautifully illustrated story of a cyclist who was famous in Italy for winning the Tour de France, and who helped jews during World War II.

His story is told in simple terms, of how he got where he was, and what he faced doing what he did.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5029" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Screen-Shot-2019-03-08-at-10.42.12-AM.png" alt="The brave cyclist" />
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5027" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Screen-Shot-2019-03-08-at-10.42.27-AM.png" alt="The Brave Cyclist" />

It is a gripping story, and a little higher level reading then typical picture books.

Good for sharing, and showing how one person can do more. What a touching, forgotten story.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This is a fascinating story for late primary/early junior students. The Brave Cyclist is a story that is very interesting, yet mostly unknown. I have read a lot of books about WWII, but had never heard of this story. It is an interesting story about the cycling champion Gino Bartali who risked his own life, his family and career to save Jews in Italy by smuggling forged identification cards to help them escape to safety during World War II. It shares information about his past, how he developed as a champion cyclist winning the Giro d'Italia, and about the first time he won the Tour de France. When he refused to pay homage to Mussolini, the resistance knew they could approach him for help.There is a lot of text, which is why I do not recommend it for an audience under the age of 9 or 10. The book shares this story simply, yet the illustrations add a lot to the story. It was easy to see the angst and fear that Gino felt in the expressions shown in those illustrations. This story not only showcases a hero who was recognized by the Jewish Councils for his brave work, but it is also a story of perseverance and hard work that Gino had to have in order to rise above his sickliness and become a champion cyclist. This story is very relevant today, it is something we need to remember when our world is still full of hate and discrimination. This would be a great addition to a school or class library.

This is a really strong book for primary school audiences, and hits a good balance between wordy and fully pictorial, with a couple of hundred words per spread. More importantly, its story is an interesting, worthwhile and mostly unknown one, wherein our hero starts out as a humble lad who discovers he can best his friends at cycling, and works through poverty to have the skills (and bike) needed to win the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. Falling out of favour with Mussolini by dint of not thanking him enough for his wins, he turns to the very risky trade of smuggling fake IDs for Jewish escapees. The book doesn't overly-dramatise things, sticking to a factual tone all the time, but it still manages to convey the awkwardness of defying the military authorities from the saddle. A strong four stars, then, for this good-looking volume, and for the way it gave me a story I knew nothing of. It might have been the full five if it hadn't got clumsy about which shirt is which in the Tour.