Author Kyo Maclear (The Liszts) and artist Gracey Zhang (Lala's Words) collaborate once again (following The Big Bath House) for the delectably charming picture book Noodles on a Bicycle. "When the deliverymen set off in the morning, we sit outside and watch," the story opens. A mother, four children, and their kitty are all smiles as the cyclist glides by, laden with bowls, boxes, and trays. The destination? The nearby Old Sobaya noodle shop, where, since dawn, the chef has been "cutting noodles from buckwheat flour. Thin juwari noodles. Dark inaka noodles. Making his famous house broth." Those ceramic soup bowls, wooden boxes, and waiting trays are soon filled, then perfectly arranged in multiple layers. The deliverymen impressively balance the toothsome towers despite the "bump, bounce" of their tires as they "zip onto the main road and sail beyond the park" to feed hungry customers: university students, factory workers, office employees. Their acrobatic agility inspires their young audiences to practice their own mobile stacking, while the deliverymen continue to criss-cross the streets with their movable feasts.
Inspired by her own childhood summers in Japan, Maclear creates a delicious homage to "delivery heroes" whose hard work facilitated simple, satisfying joy. Zhang depicts the events of the long, single workday with whimsical energy. Her ink-and-gouache illustrations capture a bustling 1960s Tokyo and her closeups are filled with culturally relevant details: crockery and kitchens, tabletops and bedding, (still) iconic buildings. The duo repeat their symbiotic success, nourishing readers with quotidian history "worth remembering and celebrating." --Terry Hong