Long before the days of cellphones and food delivery apps, demae (cycling deliverymen) used bicycles and amazing acrobatic balancing skills to deliver trays of steaming soba (buckwheat) noodles to hungry residents of Tokyo. The neighborhood kids all wonder, how do they manage those tottering towers of tasty food and stacks of breakable dishes while steering through the crowded streets with one hand on the handlebars? What would happen if the kids tried that too?
It's like magic when an author can so clearly describe a time and place that you are practically transported into the sticky summer air of downtown Tokyo. Add illustrations by Gracey Zhang, which make the flat pages of a printed book come alive with motion and energy, and you'll end up with the delicious and exciting new picture book, Noodles on a Bicycle. Check out this delightful read today--I guarantee you'll be simultaneously craving noodles and wondering where you parked your favorite bicycle!
Noodles on a Bicycle is a 2025 Caldecott Honor book. Read more about all the 2025 ALA Youth Media Award Winners here.