Noodles on a Bicycle

Starred review from May 6, 2024
Dynamic spreads by Zhang pulse with energy as they capture the casual grace of Japan’s demae—cycling food deliverers—who, from the 1930s to the 1970s, per an end note, balanced stacked trays loaded with “ceramic soup bowls and wooden soba boxes” on one shoulder while piloting their bicycle with the other hand. Maclear describes their feats via the voice of a group of neighborhood children who look up to the cyclists, taut lines echoing the tension behind their work: “They are artists./ Architects./ Tough talkers./ Speedy spinners.// But mostly,/ they are acrobats.”
The children try balancing trays and dishes themselves, only to “Rattle,/ wobble.../ clatter,/ crash!” As the day wears on, the figures cast long shadows that underline the job’s difficulty: “What is it like to work outside all day,/ cycling for a living,/ the dusk air hot and heavy and/ sticky like honey?” At dinnertime, the appearance of another deliveryman brings a surprise.
In this buoyant work from the previous collaborators (The Big Bath House), lively language honors long-honed skills worth remembering, while ink and gouache spreads capture every detail, right down to labels hand-painted on the soba boxes, in this wonderfully specific snapshot.
An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood
Creative Artists. Illustrator’s agent: Hannah Mann, Writers House.

Starred review from June 15, 2024
Impressive towers of noodles whiz through the city in this charming tribute to the hardworking deliverymen of midcentury Tokyo. A gaggle of children wait patiently to catch a glimpse of the demae (deliverymen) as they set off from the soba noodle shop in the morning. The youngsters stare with wide-mouthed wonder as the men stack trays upon trays of ceramic soup bowls and wooden soba boxes on their shoulders. Arms steady, the demae mount their bicycles and weave their way through busy streets to feed a hungry city. The deliverymen "are artists. Architects. Tough talkers. Speedy spinners...and acrobats," expertly navigating the curves and hills of the city landscape until they return to their families at night. Drawing on youthful memories of summers spent in Tokyo's Nishi-Ogikubo neighborhood, Maclear crafts a compelling story from a child's perspective, engaging the senses with rhythmic prose and onomatopoeia. Her author's note explains that this delivery method--used from the 1930s to the '70s--was eventually phased out. Perfectly complementing the text, Zhang's illustrations use lively and expressive strokes of ink and gouache, each spread bursting with character. Readers will enjoy poring over the delightful details on each page. Maclear and Zhang have created an intimate and immersive experience that transports readers to the Tokyo of yesteryear, allowing them to bask in the sights, scents, and sounds of the busy city. A fascinating, loving snapshot of a gravity-defying artform lost to time. (author's note, glossary, photos) (Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 12, 2024

PreS-Gr 2-Maclear's book is a glistening blend of imagination and innocence, perfectly capturing the wonder of childhood exploration. Children watch, amazed, as the delivery men set off every morning, delicately balancing their stacks of noodles while they traverse around the city on bicycles. The children try to put themselves in the delivery men's shoes by balancing bowls of water on their own bicycle, but find it is not so easy. The delivery men are painted as acrobats, able to weave around the dangers that might make them lose their noodles, and yet in the end, they come home, and they are just human. Zhang's ink and gouache illustrations are the perfect match for the story, providing vibrant and muted colors as appropriate that bring the world to life and show all of the beauty of the city and the delicate balancing act of the delivery men. VERDICT This is a heartwarming tale with an engaging story and beautiful illustrations that are sure to entertain children.-Jessica Clark

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2024
The creators of The Big Bath House (rev. 11/21) take readers back to Japan, this time for a wild bicycle ride through mid-twentieth-century Tokyo. A group of children, one of whom serves as the book's narrator, eagerly watches as a delivery man sets off on his bicycle in the morning, balancing on his shoulder an impossibly tall tower of stacked soup bowls and noodle boxes. With vivid descriptions of the sights and sounds of the city, the text sets readers right down in the middle of the scenes, while the writing makes for an animated read-aloud: the delivery men are "artists. Architects. Tough talkers. Speedy spinners. But mostly, they are acrobats." Illustrations done in ink and gouache capture the circus-like thrill of the cyclist navigating his precarious tower through busy streets to reach his destinations: a university, a factory, and a big office building. The art conveys equally well the quiet, cozy scene that evening when the man makes his final delivery -- to his own home, where his wife and baby and the children seen earlier happily welcome Papa and their noodle dinner. Two historical photos of Japanese demae (delivery men) bookend the story; the first one alerting readers and the second reminding them that the amazing balancing acts illustrated here aren't the least bit exaggerated. An illustration of an exhausted but smiling Papa soaking in the family's deep tub may send readers dipping back into this talented duo's earlier book. Jennifer M. Brabander

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2024
The creators of The Big Bath House (rev. 11/21) take readers back to Japan, this time for a wild bicycle ride through mid-twentieth-century Tokyo. A group of children, one of whom serves as the book's narrator, eagerly watches as a delivery man sets off on his bicycle in the morning, balancing on his shoulder an impossibly tall tower of stacked soup bowls and noodle boxes. With vivid descriptions of the sights and sounds of the city, the text sets readers right down in the middle of the scenes, while the writing makes for an animated read-aloud: the delivery men are "artists. Architects. Tough talkers. Speedy spinners. But mostly, they are acrobats." Illustrations done in ink and gouache capture the circus-like thrill of the cyclist navigating his precarious tower through busy streets to reach his destinations: a university, a factory, and a big office building. The art conveys equally well the quiet, cozy scene that evening when the man makes his final delivery -- to his own home, where his wife and baby and the children seen earlier happily welcome Papa and their noodle dinner. Two historical photos of Japanese demae (delivery men) bookend the story; the first one alerting readers and the second reminding them that the amazing balancing acts illustrated here aren't the least bit exaggerated. An illustration of an exhausted but smiling Papa soaking in the family's deep tub may send readers dipping back into this talented duo's earlier book.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)