Noodles on a Bicycle by Kyo Maclear

Oh, the joy of noodle delivery when acrobatics are involved!

Noodles on a Bicycle by Kyo Maclear and illustrates by Gracey Zhang. Random House, 2024. 40 pages.

• Reading Level: Picture books, ages 408
• Recommended For: Ages 4-8

This would be hard to believe if there wasn’t a photograph on the front end pages. How can anyone balance piles of trays of bowls of noodles so high and navigate busy city streets on a bicycle to deliver them?! It’s true.

Early in the morning, the sobaya chef makes buckwheat noodles and his famous house broth. Then steaming bowls of noodles are stacked precariously on trays and skillfully carried by bicycling deliverymen to the university, factories, offices and homes to satisfy hungry customers. The admiring children who watch from the sidewalk try to imitate them, but it’s harder than it looks! Back at home, mama calls the Old Sobaya and the family enjoys noodles for supper. 

The text is almost poetic with concrete imagery, specific details, and onomatopoetic language (a pleasure to read aloud), told through the eyes of children in a happy, loving family that enjoys ordinary, beautiful things. The illustrations are bright, loose, and childlike. Noodles on a Bicycle encourages the appreciation of work, artistry, and the comforting tradition of noodles.

This title is also a 2025 Caldecott Honor.

Bottom Line: Noodles on a Bicycle is sure to impress, delight, and make you crave a bowl of noodles.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: Hot Dog by Doug Salati — the 2024 Caldecott Winner
• Book Reviews: Check out our 2024 Caldecott Honor books round-up
• Book Review: Read more about Tokyo in Amazing Asia

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