Part One
Sam woke up with a big idea. He was three. He loved songs. He loved noises. He loved his little sister Mia, who was two, and his big brother Tom, who was six.
"Let's make a remix!" Sam said, jumping on the bed. Boing! Boing!
Tom rubbed his eyes. "A remix?"
"Yes!" Sam clapped. "Old rhymes, new beats."
Mia giggled. "Beat. Boom!"
They tiptoed to the kitchen. The family dog, Nibbles, wagged his tail and barked, "Arf arf!" which sounded like a drum. Sam grinned. "Perfect!"
Part Two
They gathered pots, spoons, a wooden spoon that went clack, and a cereal box that went crinkle. They found a towel that went swoosh and a whisk that went ding. Tom tapped the table. Tom had a small box of rhythm in his head. "I will be the DJ," he said, pretending a spoon was a microphone.
Sam held a small drum—really a cookie tin. "Me sing!" he said. He knew "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep." He wanted to mix them like pancakes.
Mia had a scarf. She waved it. "Pretty!" she said, and whoosh, the sound was soft like wind.
"Ready?" Sam asked.
"Ready!" said Tom and Mia.
They started. Sam sang, "Twinkle, baa, baa—twinkle sheep!" and everyone laughed. Clack, clack, ding! Boing! Arf arf! The remix climbed like a ladder of sounds. Tom beat a rhythm, Mia waved her scarf, and Sam made silly faces.
At one moment, Sam and Mia both grabbed the cookie tin. "Mine!" shouted Sam. "Mine!" cried Mia. They tugged. Tug-tug! The tin flew up, hit Tom's head, and slipped, spilling a handful of crackers everywhere. Crackle! Crunch!
"Oh!" said Mom from the doorway, but she had a smile. "Is that your remix?"
Tom started to laugh. Mia giggled. Sam looked surprised, then giggled too. The tug became tickles. They rolled on the floor, laughing and crunching crackers.
"Stop!" Sam said between laughs. "No, don't stop!" he added. He loved the laughter more than the tin.
Part Three
They cleaned up together. Nibbles ate a cracker and said arf. Mom clapped. "Encore?" she asked.
"Encore!" said the three kids.
This time they made a soft remix. Sam sang small and sweet. Tom tapped slowly: tap-tap, tap. Mia waved her scarf like a sleepy moon. The house hummed like a lullaby and the dog snored, "Zzz arf."
They finished with a quiet, silly bow. "We are a band," Sam whispered. They all held hands. The room felt warm and funny and calm.
Sam yawned. "Good remix," he said. Mia nodded. Tom smiled. They walked to bed, singing little bits of twinkle and baa that sounded like a hug.
