This happy-go-lucky story provides the flavors, sounds and colors of a splendid day out while depicting a time-honored tradition. At a parade with her parents, Pippa, a grinning little girl, is barely tall enough to reach her daddy’s knee, but luckily she has a front-row view. The marching band booms by and the onomatopoeic text enlivens the rhythm, “Clapping hands! / Clappity-clap. / Band is coming! / Tippity-tap.” As each section of the parade passes by Pippa is enchanted by the many instruments, which include trumpets, trombones and drums. First the gymnasts flip past, then the ten-foot-tall man on stilts. All to the same clipped rhythm, the family goes on to share pizza, popcorn, candy apples and cotton candy. Fortenberry’s rippling illustrations, at once serenely indistinct and lovingly detailed, combine misty, milky hues with thick, robust pastels, presenting a celebration of excitement and indulgence that can only be fully appreciated in childhood. (Picture book. 2-5)
