In a bustling Japanese city, a group of children admires the agility and athleticism of noodle deliverymen on bicycles. The men “stack the ceramic soup bowls and wooden soba boxes. One tray on top of another. On top of another.” Expertly balancing their towers of food on a single shoulder, they “whizz” and “soar” through the streets. The children run alongside them and pretend that they themselves are deliverymen, but—“Rattle, wobble … clatter, crash!”—their bowls of water topple to the ground. At the end of the day, the children want—what else?—“soupy, slurpy noodles. Thin, long, belly-filling noodles. Cold, chewy noodles made for dipping.” And who delivers their own tower of food? Papa! Their very own “delivery daddy,” exhausted after a “swift and sweaty day” but eager to sit down with his family for a delicious dinner. Vivid, poetic language is perfectly paired with dynamic ink-and-gouache illustrations, bringing a specialized skill of a bygone era to life in this mouth-wateringly delicious work.