Nice Work
Published on 12. May 2026
Book
Hardback
40 pages
978-0-593-80629-6 (ISBN)
Description
A wise and tender story about the patience needed for a tree--and a friendship-- to grow, from award-winning author Nicholas Day.
When it arrives in the spring, it isn’t a peach tree. It's a stick. Nice work, the boy tells his parents. You bought a stick. Even his friend Maya agrees: definitely a stick.
Soon, Maya is moving away, and the peach tree is still a stick. But with time and nurturing, the tree begins to grow and change through the seasons--and so does the boy. They are both stretching, roots reaching new places. And when someone moves into Maya's old house next door, there is finally a peach on the tree, and the opportunity for a new friendship.
This is a poignant story of change, growth, and the enduring strength of friendship. (And peaches. Lots of peaches).
When it arrives in the spring, it isn’t a peach tree. It's a stick. Nice work, the boy tells his parents. You bought a stick. Even his friend Maya agrees: definitely a stick.
Soon, Maya is moving away, and the peach tree is still a stick. But with time and nurturing, the tree begins to grow and change through the seasons--and so does the boy. They are both stretching, roots reaching new places. And when someone moves into Maya's old house next door, there is finally a peach on the tree, and the opportunity for a new friendship.
This is a poignant story of change, growth, and the enduring strength of friendship. (And peaches. Lots of peaches).
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Random House USA Inc
Target group
Children/juvenile
US School Grade: From Preschool to Third Grade, Interest Age: From 4 to 8 years
Illustrations
FULL-COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS
Dimensions
Height: 286 mm
Width: 225 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
444 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-593-80629-6 (9780593806296)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
NICHOLAS DAY is the author of The Mona Lisa Vanishes, winner of the Robert F. Sibert Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction. He is also the author of the picture book Nothing, which received three starred reviews, and the adult narrative nonfiction title, Baby Meets World. He has written regularly for Slate; his work has also appeared in the Atlantic, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, among other publications. He lives in Western Massachusetts with his family.
HALA TAHBOUB is a children’s book writer and illustrator. She started her creative journey as an architect and interior designer. She won the SCBWI Canada East chapter’s Storyteller Award for Illustration in 2019, and she was the SCBWI’s December Featured Illustrator in 2020. Hala believes in kindness, coffee, chocolate, and in the immense power of stories. She lives in Montreal.
HALA TAHBOUB is a children’s book writer and illustrator. She started her creative journey as an architect and interior designer. She won the SCBWI Canada East chapter’s Storyteller Award for Illustration in 2019, and she was the SCBWI’s December Featured Illustrator in 2020. Hala believes in kindness, coffee, chocolate, and in the immense power of stories. She lives in Montreal.