A #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
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A Horn Book Best Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Book
A School Library Journal Best Book
A NAACP Image Awards Youth/Teens Winner
Clayton feels most alive when hea�TMs with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and the band of Bluesmen a�" he cana�TMt wait to join them, just as soon as he has a blues song of his own. But then the unthinkable happens. Cool Papa Byrd dies, and Claytona�TMs mother forbids Clayton from playing the blues. And Clayton knows thata�TMs no way to live.
Armed with his grandfathera�TMs brown porkpie hat and his harmonica, he runs away from home in search of the Bluesmen, hoping he can join them on the road. But on the journey that takes him through the New York City subways and to Washington Square Park, Clayton learns some things that surprise him.
Grades 4-6 | Ages 8-10 | Lexile 710L