Noodles on a Bicycle

By Kyo Maclear. Illustrated by Gracey Zhang.

May 2026 Book Club Selection
In contracted braille (UEB)
Ages: 3-8

Every morning, the children wait for the flicker of pedal and wheel. It's the demae – delivery men – setting off to deliver steaming trays of noodles to hungry customers all over the city. They are acrobats: whizzing past other bicycles, soaring around curves, avoiding the black smoke of motorcycles. When the children see them, they want to be them. And so they practice with bowls of wobbling water stacked on trays. The day passes, and, finally, exhausted, the demae return home, to their families, and, yes, to steaming bowls of noodles.

A vibrant historical picture book about Tokyo's bicycle food deliverers, or demae, who balanced towering trays of steaming hot noodles on their shoulders while navigating crowded city streets.

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