"Good Both Going and Coming Back": Rabbit and the Motorbike by Kate Hoefler

Rabbit lived in a quiet field of wheat that he never left--not even once--even though there was a road. And even though he dreamed that he did every night.

But Rabbit has a friend, Dog, who has a motorbike and once followed that road everywhere, where he saw many wonderful things.

He loved telling Rabbit about the places he'd felt most alive.

Dog made Rabbit feel that he had been with him in all those places. But one day Dog was gone, leaving Rabbit with only remembered stories and his motorbike.

For a long time Rabbit stays home, but when he looks at the motorbike and remembers Dog's stories he realizes that he, too, can now go anywhere he wants as Dog did. Still, Rabbit is timid.

Yet one day Rabbit decides to ride the motorbike--

Just down the road....But roads are long.

Rabbit forgot that.

Like all roads, Rabbit's road is connected to all the roads in the world and he saw much of it--giant redwoods, the ocean, and the great desert....

And Rabbit felt Dog right there with him.

And full of stories that are his own, Rabbit returns and finds a young friend to share them with, in Kate Hoefler's Rabbit and the Motorbike: (Books about Friendship, Inspirational Books for Kids, Children's Adventure Books, Children's Emotion Books) (Chronicle Books, 2019). This is a quiet  book with beautiful illustrations, a layered metaphoric story about the courage to discover the world and yourself, well and simply told. Says Kirkus in their starred reviews, "Exhilarating... Graceful text and evocative illustrations combine in this story about ... facing fears and trying something new."

When Daddy Comes Home! My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero

My papi has a motorcycle.

When I hear his gray truck pull into our driveway, I run outside with both of our helmets.

Papi is careful with my ponytail as he pulls my helmet tight.

Daisy feels so special, her arms wrapped around her father's chest, toodling around town, startling the cats and making dogs bark. They zoom past her grandmother's church and the market, where she exchanges nods with the librarian, and she waves at her grandparents in their front yard. Her friend calls out to her as she rolls past.

"DAISY!"

She looks sadly at the shop, now closed, where she and Papi used to stop for fruit-flavored ices, but as they head for home, there is a happy surprise!-- a fruit ices seller's cart with her favorite flavor, right in front of their house.

Time with Dad is special, in Isabel Quintero's portrait of family life in a friendly town, My Papi Has a Motorcycle (Penguin Books, 2019), so poignantly evoked in the warm and detailed illustrations of artist Zeke Pena. Sharing experiences is one of the many ways to be a good dad, and Pena's detailed and joyful illustrations make feelings between parent and child come alive. Says Booklist's starred review, "A heartwarming story that centers joy in the midst of looming change."