On Our Way! What a Day!

by JaNay Brown-Wood, Tamisha Anthony (Illustrator)

Overview

A journey, a challenge, and a party with Gram make one day super special for a group of siblings.

It’s Gram’s birthday, and the grandkids can’t wait to celebrate with her. There’s just one thing missing: a gift! So on their way to the party, the search is on. They spot lots of interesting things—a scritchy-scratchy pine cone, three jingly-jangly quarters, some clicky-clacky stones—but are any of them good enough for Gram?

Fortunately, there’s no quashing the enthusiasm and creativity of these siblings, who have a marvelous time scouting and singing as they shimmy over to Gram’s, making the journey its own celebration. Their combined discoveries will make this a very special day indeed!

This dynamic story shows the big impact a thoughtful gift from the heart can have, no matter how small it might be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593110751
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	01/07/2025
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

JaNay Brown-Wood, PhD (JanayBrownWood.com), is an award-winning children’s author, poet, educator, and scholar. Her previous books include Jam, Tooff, Imani’s Moon (winner of the NAESP Children’s Book of the Year Award), and Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story! (winner of the CELI Read Aloud Book Award). She lives in Sacramento, California.

Tamisha Anthony’s (TamishaAnthony) previous picture books include Seoul Food by Erin Danielle Russell, There’s No Place Like Hope by Janet Lawler, and Most Perfect You by Jazmyn Simon. Her love of educating has led her to teach for organizations such as the New-York Historical Society and Make Art That Sells and to write and illustrate a recurring column for UPPERCASE magazine. She lives in New Orleans.

Editorial Reviews

10/14/2024

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. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly