Gracey Zhang

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. When the deliverymen set off in the 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. This beautifully crafted, visually exciting story by a powerhouse author and illustrator team is sure to be adored by food lovers, young and old.

From the PW Flying Starts creative force, Gracey Zhang, comes a touching and beautiful story about community, finding your own voice, doing what you love the most, and expressing your passion with FORTE Rubin loves the beautiful sounds that are played by the orchestra. He wants to learn to play the violin and make his own music. But when Rubin plays, it doesn't sound like he imagines it should. Rubin goes into the forest to practice alone and despite only getting the violin to screech, he finds an unlikely audience that loves his unique style.In another inspiring and lyrical picture book that deftly dives into the psyche and heart of a child's viewpoint and experience, the creator of Lala's Words, Gracey Zhang, offers confidence to everyone who longs to master something that can be difficult and shows that there is only one way to do something right: that is to do it your own special way.This is the next book from one of today's most gifted young creators. Zhang is a Publishers Weekly's Spring 2021 Children's Flying Starts creator and her debut, Lala's Words, was the 2022 EJK Award Winner, with endless praise: "Little Lala helps the weeds in the vacant lot blossom into full, gorgeous plants just by talking to them and showing them a little love. This picture book is breathtaking, and Zhang's use of color really helps the story come alive. It's like a modern inverse of The Giving Tree." -- Paul Swydan, The Silver Unicorn Bookstore

A joyful celebration of Japanese cultural traditions and body positivity as a young girl visits a bath house with her grandmother and aunties You'll walk down the street / Your aunties sounding like clip-clopping horses / geta-geta-geta / in their wooden sandals / Until you arrive... / At the bath house / The big bath house. In this celebration of Japanese culture and family and naked bodies of all shapes and sizes, join a little girl--along with her aunties and grandmother--at a traditional bath house. Once there, the rituals leading up to the baths begin: hair washing, back scrubbing, and, finally, the wood barrel drumroll. Until, at last, it's time, and they ease their bodies--their creased bodies, newly sprouting bodies, saggy, jiggly bodies--into the bath. Ahhhhhh With a lyrical text and gorgeous illustrations, this picture book is based on Kyo Maclear's loving memories of childhood visits to Japan, and is an ode to the ties that bind generations of women together.

Winner of the 2022 Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Award From debut author-illustrator Gracey Zhang comes a timeless and timely picture book that celebrates the unassuming power of kind words.Oh, there goes Lala She carries a pot of water around the corner, down the block, and over the fence, to a patch of dirt and concrete where tiny weeds sprout. "Hello, hello, friends " she whispers. Lala waters the plants every day, but it is her kind words that make them sway and nod.Lala's wild nature and quiet compassion enchant in this evergreen story about the power of kind words and the magic of being loved for who you are.