Life savers can come in surprising shapes! Hannah's grandmother never jeeps presents, such as the furry slippers Hannah and her parents brought on their last visit downriver to the candy store in the Bronx, New York. Sensible Grandma says about any gift, "Thank you very much, but it's not a necessity." This visit to her grandparents--her first on the bus by herself--Hannah brings a surprise of her own choosing: a bright silver whistling teakettle with a little red bird on the spout so Grandma won't have to keep running back to the kitchen behind the store to check whether the tea water's boiling. "A necessity" if Hannah has ever seen one! On her first night with her grandparents, two suspicious characters ("they weren't regular") come to the store for more than malteds.
