Robin L Owen
Feb 02, 2026
Photo by Jordan Sanchez on Unsplash
I didn’t appreciate just how much children love cars until my own started pointing at them and clapping, at just twelve months old. Soon, he started saying “cah!”, or car everywhere we went. He’s now about a year and a half old, and “car” is still one of his favorite words. The mail truck, the garbage truck, any car that drives by — all wonders. He has plenty of toy cars and trucks, and last night he realized with excitement that his pajamas had cars on them. It’s cute! And, more importantly, it’s one way he’s expressing his interest in the world around him. I interpret children’s love for cars as a sign of just how car-centric our world is; they sense it, and they want to understand it.
Books, too, often feature cars. We enjoy the Little Blue Truck series (beep beep beep, iykyk), and any number of car-themed books from the library. It’s fine, and as a parent who, honestly, hates cars — it’s just part of life.
It’s also sadly ironic, because cars are dangerous for children. In the US, firearms have surpassed cars as the number one cause of death for children (Lord have mercy), but cars remain at number two. Car culture makes our children less independent since they must be ferried from place to place under adult supervision (also encouraging/requiring more intensive parenting). Things like walking and biking to school, once commonplace, now require special, coordinated events in much of the country.
So here’s a few books that my little one has enjoyed, that I hope will help him understand that cars are not the only way to get around. Some of these are explicitly about bikes and cities, but many feature them simply as a setting. I think these books — where riding transit or living in an apartment are just one part of a child’s life — are important for normalizing things beyond car-bound, suburban drudgery.
What unites all of the books on this list is that all of them celebrate urban life, walking, cycling, or transit.
Also, I don’t feature any books which are simply pictures of things like trains or bikes — but there are many books like this, and my toddler (at least) is very interested in what we call “toddler nonfiction”: picture books with photography, or even catalogues.
From Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
1. Ride Roll Run Time for Fun by Valerie Bolling
After school is out, children ride, roll, and run through their neighborhood. Along the way, they play sports, ride bikes, make music, draw with chalk, and more. The words are simple and rhyme, the illustrations are very bold and fun, and features a diverse crew of kids. I saw this book in our local library, and its title inspired me to make this list!
2. Busy Babies by Amy Schwartz
This rhyming book sweetly illustrates the lives of babies and toddlers - going to the park, making messes, banging pots and pans, blowing bubbles, etc. - and features the city as part of their daily lives. Babies walk, roll, and bike places, but don’t climb into cars.
3. Cityblock by Christopher Franceschelli
All of the Abrams Block Books are incredibly fun. They are longer than your typical board book and die cut, so you get intricate and interesting shapes and pages along the way. This book is divided into three sections, things that go, things to see, and things to eat that celebrate the diversity and interest of city life.
4. Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
Nana lives in the big city, and her grandson is scared to visit her there. “The city is no place for a Nana!” he says at one point. But then, his grandmother makes him a red cape so he can be brave in the city. When he is, he discovers that the things that once scared him about the city - it’s big and loud - also make it beautiful and vibrant.
5. Good Morning, City by Pat Kiernan
The city slowly comes to life in this book which celebrates an urban community. The day starts early with a baker kneading bread, as more and more people wake up and begin their days.
6. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
This is another book that isn’t about urbanist topics, but where they are the background of the protagonist’s world. Peter is a young boy who is excited for a snow day, and after getting bundled up, he explores his urban neighborhood. Children’s independence, walking to get around, and urban exploration are all themes. It’s also another Caldecott winner, and a truly gorgeous work of collage art.
7. Worm Weather by Jean Taft
Two kids go on a walk to a pizza joint in the rain with their parent, and then to a park. Again, another book where urban life is the normal background to the story otherwise. We can walk in the rain, believe it or not!
Last stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
8. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
“Nana, how come we don’t have a car?” CJ asks his grandmother as they wait for the bus in the rain.
But on the bus, CJ and his Nana meet all kinds of neighbors, and his Nana tells his she is sorry for people who don’t get to ride the bus. Along their route home, CJ and Nana meet all kinds of neighbors and learn a lot about the world around them.
This award winning book (it received the Caldecott Honor and Newbery Medal) is a beautiful exploration of the ways public transit brings us together as a community, and gently illustrates what we lose in the convenience of cars.
9. The Wheels on the Bus by Raffi, Illustrated by Sylvie Kantorovitz
Look, the “Wheels on the Bus” is our best pro-transit propaganda. We need to embrace it. Raffi, the popular children’s singer, does in this illustrated version of the song. Reading with a song is a great way to develop reading skills!
10. Trains Go by Steve Light
This book of onomatopoeia about trains and all their various sounds is especially fun for the youngest readers,
11. My Bus by Byron Barton
Bryon Barton is on here twice because his colorful, weird books are that much fun and appeal really well to toddlers. In this book, a bus driver picks up various cats and dogs and drops them off at a boat, a train, and a plane. Public transit for all species!
My Bike by Bryon Barton - check out that sweet bike lane! (Could use some delineators though.)
12.. Go, Bikes, Go! By Addie Boswell
This colorful board book introduces toddlers to all kinds of bikes - big, small, tandem, cargo, imaginary! Straightforward, fun book to celebrate bikes for everyone.
13. My Bike by Byron Barton
Tom rides his bike to work in this simple board book, but (spoiler alert!) Tom is a clown who works in the circus and his job is riding a unicycle on the high wire. Everyone should have the option to ride to work, even clowns!
14. The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke
A sister and her brothers build their own bike from makeshift parts in their African village. This book is incredibly beautiful, made to look like it’s built of cardboard and its own patchwork pieces, and it celebrates the independence and joy a bike can bring children.
Source (Archive)
Feb 02, 2026
Photo by Jordan Sanchez on Unsplash
I didn’t appreciate just how much children love cars until my own started pointing at them and clapping, at just twelve months old. Soon, he started saying “cah!”, or car everywhere we went. He’s now about a year and a half old, and “car” is still one of his favorite words. The mail truck, the garbage truck, any car that drives by — all wonders. He has plenty of toy cars and trucks, and last night he realized with excitement that his pajamas had cars on them. It’s cute! And, more importantly, it’s one way he’s expressing his interest in the world around him. I interpret children’s love for cars as a sign of just how car-centric our world is; they sense it, and they want to understand it.
Books, too, often feature cars. We enjoy the Little Blue Truck series (beep beep beep, iykyk), and any number of car-themed books from the library. It’s fine, and as a parent who, honestly, hates cars — it’s just part of life.
It’s also sadly ironic, because cars are dangerous for children. In the US, firearms have surpassed cars as the number one cause of death for children (Lord have mercy), but cars remain at number two. Car culture makes our children less independent since they must be ferried from place to place under adult supervision (also encouraging/requiring more intensive parenting). Things like walking and biking to school, once commonplace, now require special, coordinated events in much of the country.
So here’s a few books that my little one has enjoyed, that I hope will help him understand that cars are not the only way to get around. Some of these are explicitly about bikes and cities, but many feature them simply as a setting. I think these books — where riding transit or living in an apartment are just one part of a child’s life — are important for normalizing things beyond car-bound, suburban drudgery.
What unites all of the books on this list is that all of them celebrate urban life, walking, cycling, or transit.
Also, I don’t feature any books which are simply pictures of things like trains or bikes — but there are many books like this, and my toddler (at least) is very interested in what we call “toddler nonfiction”: picture books with photography, or even catalogues.
Books about Urban Life
From Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
1. Ride Roll Run Time for Fun by Valerie Bolling
After school is out, children ride, roll, and run through their neighborhood. Along the way, they play sports, ride bikes, make music, draw with chalk, and more. The words are simple and rhyme, the illustrations are very bold and fun, and features a diverse crew of kids. I saw this book in our local library, and its title inspired me to make this list!
2. Busy Babies by Amy Schwartz
This rhyming book sweetly illustrates the lives of babies and toddlers - going to the park, making messes, banging pots and pans, blowing bubbles, etc. - and features the city as part of their daily lives. Babies walk, roll, and bike places, but don’t climb into cars.
3. Cityblock by Christopher Franceschelli
All of the Abrams Block Books are incredibly fun. They are longer than your typical board book and die cut, so you get intricate and interesting shapes and pages along the way. This book is divided into three sections, things that go, things to see, and things to eat that celebrate the diversity and interest of city life.
4. Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
Nana lives in the big city, and her grandson is scared to visit her there. “The city is no place for a Nana!” he says at one point. But then, his grandmother makes him a red cape so he can be brave in the city. When he is, he discovers that the things that once scared him about the city - it’s big and loud - also make it beautiful and vibrant.
5. Good Morning, City by Pat Kiernan
The city slowly comes to life in this book which celebrates an urban community. The day starts early with a baker kneading bread, as more and more people wake up and begin their days.
6. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
This is another book that isn’t about urbanist topics, but where they are the background of the protagonist’s world. Peter is a young boy who is excited for a snow day, and after getting bundled up, he explores his urban neighborhood. Children’s independence, walking to get around, and urban exploration are all themes. It’s also another Caldecott winner, and a truly gorgeous work of collage art.
7. Worm Weather by Jean Taft
Two kids go on a walk to a pizza joint in the rain with their parent, and then to a park. Again, another book where urban life is the normal background to the story otherwise. We can walk in the rain, believe it or not!
Books about Trains & Buses
Last stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
8. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena
“Nana, how come we don’t have a car?” CJ asks his grandmother as they wait for the bus in the rain.
But on the bus, CJ and his Nana meet all kinds of neighbors, and his Nana tells his she is sorry for people who don’t get to ride the bus. Along their route home, CJ and Nana meet all kinds of neighbors and learn a lot about the world around them.
This award winning book (it received the Caldecott Honor and Newbery Medal) is a beautiful exploration of the ways public transit brings us together as a community, and gently illustrates what we lose in the convenience of cars.
9. The Wheels on the Bus by Raffi, Illustrated by Sylvie Kantorovitz
Look, the “Wheels on the Bus” is our best pro-transit propaganda. We need to embrace it. Raffi, the popular children’s singer, does in this illustrated version of the song. Reading with a song is a great way to develop reading skills!
10. Trains Go by Steve Light
This book of onomatopoeia about trains and all their various sounds is especially fun for the youngest readers,
11. My Bus by Byron Barton
Bryon Barton is on here twice because his colorful, weird books are that much fun and appeal really well to toddlers. In this book, a bus driver picks up various cats and dogs and drops them off at a boat, a train, and a plane. Public transit for all species!
Bike Books
My Bike by Bryon Barton - check out that sweet bike lane! (Could use some delineators though.)
12.. Go, Bikes, Go! By Addie Boswell
This colorful board book introduces toddlers to all kinds of bikes - big, small, tandem, cargo, imaginary! Straightforward, fun book to celebrate bikes for everyone.
13. My Bike by Byron Barton
Tom rides his bike to work in this simple board book, but (spoiler alert!) Tom is a clown who works in the circus and his job is riding a unicycle on the high wire. Everyone should have the option to ride to work, even clowns!
14. The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke
A sister and her brothers build their own bike from makeshift parts in their African village. This book is incredibly beautiful, made to look like it’s built of cardboard and its own patchwork pieces, and it celebrates the independence and joy a bike can bring children.
Source (Archive)
