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Nice Work

Illustrated by Hala Tahboub
Hardcover
8-1/2"W x 11"H | 20 oz | 24 per carton
On sale May 12, 2026 | 40 Pages | 9780593806296
Age 4-8 years

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).
© Isaiah Day
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. His debut picture book, Nothing: John Cage and 4’33”, was illustrated by Chris Raschka. 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. View titles by Nicholas Day
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About

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).

Creators

© Isaiah Day
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. His debut picture book, Nothing: John Cage and 4’33”, was illustrated by Chris Raschka. 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. View titles by Nicholas Day
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