Bibliography: O’Malley, Kevin. 2005. Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude. New York:Walker & Company. ISBN: 0802789471.

Plot Summary:
Two kids are assigned to write their own version of a fairytale for a class assignment.  The girl begins with a tale of a princess who owns several ponies, but the boy interjects with disdainful comments.  He then takes over and inserts into the story a tough guy on a motorcycle who battles an ogre.  The two kids eventually find compromise in the finale of their tale.

Critical Analysis:
Two layers of juxtaposition exist in this picture book.  The first layer is the boy and girl characters whose imaginations conflict when creating a story together.  The second layer is the story they create, and the stereotypical differences between a delicate princess and a tough muscle guy. The juxtaposition works because readers will recognize the stereotypes and laugh at the familiar humor between the two kids telling the story.  The magic is in the banter between the girl and boy, and when read aloud by one or two skilled readers, this clever story can rise off the page and be played out in front of an audience.

The illustrations are also juxtaposed as a result of the difference in the two concurrent stories.  Carol Heyer and Kevin O’Malley worked together to design illustrations that not only suited the tone of the two different stories, but the resulting mesh of the different styles works well aesthetically.

Review Excerpts:
Booklist: “A funny take on the age-old battle of the sexes, with an ending suited for the new millennium. - Todd Morning. Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.
Publisher’s Weekly: “Entertaining and sophisticated, this book would make a great conversation starter about issues of gender stereotyping, and the benefits of teamwork.” - Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.