ON OUR WAY! WHAT A DAY!

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,” “three jingly-jangly quarters,” “some tippy-tappy pencils,” and more—but nothing seems quite right. “Gram won’t want some pencils. / Some tippy-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.