On Our Way! What a Day!

Starred review from November 15, 2024
On Gram's birthday, six musical siblings scour the city to find the perfect gift. A bouncing, repeating rhyme follows the children like a wandering jazz solo as they search for a present for their grandmother on their way to her apartment. They find various rhythmic knickknacks on their path--a "scritchy-scratchy pinecone," "threejingly-jangly quarters," "sometippy-tappy pencils," and more--but nothing seems quite right. "Gram won't want some pencils. / Sometippy-tappy pencils. Nah, Gram won't want some pencils!" "Yeah, but I do!" Each child claims one of the rejected items and brings it along, recognizing potential treasure within an otherwise mundane object. A stream of musical notes trails the children as they tap, jangle, and swish all the way to their grandmother's place. Gram is thrilled when they burst through her door singing Stevie Wonder's "Happy Birthday." Using the objects they've collected as makeshift instruments, the family celebrates raucously, proving that the best gift of all is love--and a catchy beat! Digital illustrations in vibrant bursts of color provide a stellar backdrop of detailed scenes that readers will pore over, with jazz posters on the walls of the family's charming Victorian house, swirling musical notes, and expressive cartoon faces unique to each child. The family is Black; they vary in skin tone and hairstyle. A toe-tapping journey to Grandmother's house that will have readers begging for an encore.(Picture book. 3-6)

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October 14, 2024
Six children set out with energy and excitement, crossing a city on foot and by bus to celebrate their grandmother’s birthday, in this musical telling. Anthony (Most Perfect You) shows the family’s house in cross-section (framed portraits of jazz musicians enliven the walls) as the eldest waits at the door: “But we don’t have a gift to share!/ Let’s look for one on our way there.” On each spread, one of the children discovers a treasure, announcing it in an easily remembered verse formula: “Gram won’t want a pine cone,/ a scritchy-scratchy pine cone./ Nah, Gram won’t want a pine cone.// Yeah, but I do!” From “jingly-jangly” quarters on the bus floor to “tippy-tappy” pencils from a boutique, Brown-Wood (Jam, Too?) highlights each object’s signature sound as the sonic layers build. Digital spreads peppered with music notes capture dancing movements that clearly represent rhythm as part of the journey, until the family arrives to warmth and more tunes at Gram’s house. It’s a party of a readaloud that shows how an interesting sound, its own kind of gift, can come from nearly anywhere. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–6. Author’s agent: Karen
Grencik, Red Fox Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright Agency.

January 31, 2025

PreS-Gr 2-Six grandkids are headed to Gram's for her special birthday. As they get ready, they realize they don't have a gift for her, but maybe they'll find one on the way there. The kids find all types of things that they want: a scratchy-scratchy pine cone, three jingly jangly quarters, and some tippy-tappy pencils. They think Gram won't like these things, but when they use them to make music, it's a gift Gram loves. This picture book appears simple with a few lines on each page, but these lines carry a musical quality with rhythm, repetition, and descriptive imagery. Music also plays a role in the vibrant illustrations, where musical notes, musical instruments, and references to performances are sprinkled throughout. Readers will love the lesson: at first, the kids seem as if they're distracted from their task of getting Gram a present. It isn't until they use their gifts together that they realize the beauty in joining to create something that none of them could have made on their own. Characters have varied skin tones, hair textures, and hairstyles; overall this becomes a glorious reminder of the diversity found in a community and in a family. VERDICT This musical picture book of gift-searching grandkids will make a sweet addition to any library's collection.-Myiesha Speight

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