One of the most delicious parts of this exuberant picture book set in 20th-century Tokyo is the inclusion of two small, eye-popping historic photos: Here are actual soba noodle deliverymen in action, balancing impossible towers of noodles on one shoulder as they whiz through the city streets. The images, which appear in the front matter and on the back cover of Noodles on a Bicycle, complement Kyo Maclear’s tribute to these wheeled magicians, and will help young readers see that Gracey Zhang’s illustrations of these noodle towers are inspired by the real thing.
In an author’s note, Maclear shares that she spent her childhood in a Tokyo neighborhood where cycling deliverymen were part of daily life—and completely fascinating to a child. Maclear’s lyrical, rhythmic text captures this childhood sense of wonder, as the narrator and her siblings wait in the morning for the first “flicker of pedal and wheel.” The narrative also includes the actual noodle-making process, in which the sobaya chef rises at dawn to cut noodles and create his special, famous broth.
Store names, road signs and advertisements on trucks are all shown in Japanese characters. Zhang’s vibrant, colorful illustrations are full of tiny, authentic details that will entrance adult readers as well. If you imagined that these cyclists balanced light, relatively sturdy bowls made of plastic or lacquer, you’d be wrong: They carried ceramic soup bowls and wooden soba boxes. As the story follows these amazing acrobats throughout their busy day, the narrator and her friends and siblings practice balancing bowls filled with water. Watch out!
There’s a lovely surprise at the end, too, as the children and their mother are getting hungry for dinner. Will they get a delivery themselves? They will, and it’s special indeed, brought by their own “delivery daddy.” Rather than end with the meal, we see a tired father lovingly tucking his children into bed, while outside the empty dishes are stacked for collection. In Noodles on a Bicycle, words and art come together seamlessly to reveal a world now long gone, in a loving, memorable tale that children will want to savor time and again.
