2025 Caldecott Honor Books: *Home in a Lunchbox, My Daddy Is a Cowboy, *Noodles on a Bicycle, and Up Up Ever Up

This year’s Caldecott honor books feature warm family ties, amazing skills and ambitions fulfilled.

Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo. Penguin Workshop, 2024, 32 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 3-8

With a kiss from Mom, a little girl from Hong Kong is headed for her first day of school in the United States. She’s equipped with four English phrases and one lunchbox. From the first greeting at the bus stop to the pool of silence around her when she exits the bus at the school yard, the lunchbox will be her one link with her former life. Everything else is alien: the landscape on the way to school, the books, the games, the diversity of the student body, and most of all, the language. Any grownup will ache for this child, tossed into a foreign environment with no acclimation. But even very young children will understand why her despair grows with each passing day.

Lunchtime is an oasis of familiar in the confusion. It’s braised tofu, vegetable bao, red bean soup, noodles. It’s the natural curiosity of other children. It’s the eventual offers to share a hamburger or a slice of pizza, followed by sharing names. The ending of this nearly wordless story may be a bit too sunny, but it offers an encouraging view of humanity and a reassuring message for kids who feel different. The soft-toned, childlike illustrations contain a lot of detail for young readers to pore over, and they’ll learn something about Hong Kong, too

Bottom Line: A gentle, poignant story about finding one’s feet in a new environment.

My Daddy Is a Cowboy by Stephanie Seales, illustrated by C. G. Esperanza. Abrams, 2024, 38 pages.

Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 3-8

Very early in the morning, before the sun even thinks about rising, a young girl is awakened by her daddy. They have a special morning planned, “just us” time. First a motorcycle ride to the stable, then grooming and saddling Daddy’s mount Power and the girl’s pony Clover. The sky turns from midnight black to ocean blue as they clop down the dozy city streets, passing bakeries and coffee shops. Daddy began riding horseback as a boy; it made him feel “stronger, safer, and happier,” and his daughter feels that way too. As the sky swirls with sherbet colors the city begins waking up. Pedestrians and drivers wave. “Cowboys are famous around here. They make people happy.”

Illustrations are done in bold colorful brushstrokes that almost overpower the elegant narrative and sometimes clash with the quiet joy of a girl sharing this special time with her father. There’s no subtlety here, but the warmth of a loving family strides off the page. Note: My Daddy Is a Cowboy is also the winner of this year’s Coretta Scott King illustrator award.

Bottom Line: An exuberant celebration of father-daughter bonding.

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

Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 4-8

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.

Bottom Line: Sure to impress, delight, and make you crave a bowl of noodles.

(This review was originally posted on January 28)

Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei, A Life in the Mountains by Anita Yasuda, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. Clarion Books, 2024, 42 pages.

Reading Level: Picture Book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 6-12

As a girl in rural Japan, Junko climbed to the summit of Mt. Chausu among sizzling hot springs and looming boulders. A love of climbing was born that would pursue her all the way into adulthood and a move to Tokyo. There, after much persistence, she found a mountaineering club that would admit women. Marriage and even motherhood didn’t delay her plans for long; though all the gear and most of the rules were made for men, Junko formed a league with other women climbers who made their own plans and constructed their own gear. The ultimate goal loomed before them: to summit the world’s highest mountain. No woman had ever done that. Would Junko be the first?

Obviously yes; hence this picture-book biography. But Junko didn’t just summit; she returned years later to advocate for responsible stewardship of the Himalayas and mountain ecosystems. The illustrations borrow heavily from Japanese traditional styles, with clear line drawings and striking depictions of nature. The avalanche that nearly ended Junko’s Everest ambitions and the scene from the summit are worth the price of the book. Symbolism blends with naturalism to tell the story of a woman overcoming bias with persistence and good cheer.

Bottom Line: A beautifully-illustrated biography of a little-known, but admirable, figure.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

Reviews: See our Roundup of Caldecott honor winners from 2024 and 2023.

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Order Home in a Lunchbox, My Daddy Is a Cowboy, Noodles on a Bicycle, and Up Up Ever Up from Amazon.