Midnight Motorbike

by Maureen Shay Tajsar, Ishita Jain (Illustrator)

Overview

Imagine Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site set in the jungle. On a night too hot to sleep, Amma takes her daughter on a magical, moonlit motorbike ride through South India.

In this lush mother-daughter nighttime adventure through the jungles of southern India, debut author Maureen Shay Tajsar enchants the reader with all five senses, offering smells of spicy tea and warm hay, tastes of warm potato dosa, and wind washing over sandaled feet. Debut illustrator Ishita Jain immerses the reader in the deepest blue, the darkest night, and the coziest love, in a book that feels at once like a hug and an adventure.

There's no better way to be lulled to sleep than tucked against Amma on her motorbike, and a Midnight Motorbike read-aloud is the next best thing. Drawing on the childhood memories of both author and illustrator, this sumptuous treasure is sure to be a new family favorite.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823456628
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/08/2025
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.79(w) x 11.27(h) x 0.33(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Maureen Shay Tajsar is a scholar and writer who holds a PhD in global literature with a specialization in decolonization and refugee migration studies. She adores teaching shadow puppetry with elementary schoolers and world comic books with university students. She lives and works in California.

Ishita Jain is an illustrator and designer based in NYC, though she is originally from Delhi, India. She loves to draw on location and enjoys documenting the people, places and stories that surround her. Her work is inspired by day to day moments, giant trees, shimmering spots of light and the wonder that comes from being around nature. She works across media, both digital and traditional. Ishita studied graphic design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India and went to the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Program at School of Visual Arts, New York.

Editorial Reviews

The dreamlike visuals complement the lyrical text, engaging readers’ senses and showcasing the gentle, loving relationship between mother and child. . . A visual feast sure to have readers finding magic in the mundane.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Extended first-person lines from Shay Tajsar, making her debut, lean into lyricism over precision. Thickly rendered mixed-media illustrations from Jain, meanwhile, strikingly capture the dreamlike state of the late-night ride.
—Publishers Weekly

A loving tribute to mother/daughter relationships, as well as the Indian subcontinent, consider this story as an introduction to South Asian culture or as a centerpiece to thoughtful story hours. Vibrant illustrations and poetic text make this story of family relationships well-suited for one-on-one reads or for group settings with room for Q&As.
—School Library Journal

Young readers will be transported. . . . While this mother-daughter adventure ignites the senses, as the narrator is finally lulled to sleep by the end, it also becomes a poignant salute to the love between parent and child. Midnight Motorbike is an exciting and ultimately comforting ode to adventure, observation and love.
—BookPage

Inspired by her own motorbike rides with her mother in Tamil Nadu, Tajsar’s lyrical text, coupled with Jain’s jewel-toned illustrations in gouache, crayons, and pencil, weave an immersive, sensory-rich, and timelessly magical connection among mother and child, other people, and the larger world.
—The Horn Book

From the Publisher