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When the Cousins Came

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When the Cousins Came

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Overview

A multicultural family story that celebrates kindness and differences.

Lila is excited for her cousins Takeo and Rosie to visit. They're going to ride bikes, paint, and camp together. But when the cousins arrive, everything's wrong: Rosie and Takeo are better painters than Lila, have skateboards instead of bikes, and don't want to camp outside. Lila is terribly disappointed until the cousins make her a surprise: a big banner for their "best cousin" Lila!

Inspired by the author's own large, diverse family, When the Cousins Came is a sensitive story about insecurity, hosting, and friendship. Katie Yamasaki's tale, paired with bright mixed-media art, reminds children that negative thoughts and anxiety over exclusion don't always translate to reality, and that even when plans go wrong you can still have a good time together.

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year!

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About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823446773
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	06/16/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	375,138
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Katie Yamasaki is a muralist, author, and teacher, who has painted over 80 murals in communities around the world. She is passionate about art as dialogue and storytelling. When the Cousins Came was inspired by her own large, diverse family, and by the similarities and differences she uncovered when visiting her own cousins. Based in Brooklyn, she teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

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Editorial Reviews

* "A refreshing, reassuring, and honest story about family and friendship that stands out." —School Library Journal, Starred Review

* "A quiet story that captures all those small cherished moments in childhood. A rare find about family featuring a mixed-raced protagonist." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"Mixed-media collage illustrations, incorporating acrylic, gouache, pastels, colored pencil, and hand-painted cut paper, beautifully present the multiethnic family."—Booklist

"International muralist Katie Yamasaki (Fish for Jimmy) deftly enhances When the Cousins Came with cultural, social and emotional layers for lasting beyond-the-words effect."—Shelf Awareness

"A useful mirror book . . . of how people from different backgrounds and cultures can meet halfway and learn from each other."—The Horn Book

"A celebration of the happy alchemy of kids creating their own activities together."—The Bulletin

From the Publisher

★ 06/01/2018
K-Gr 2—Lila eagerly anticipates the arrival of her two cousins who are visiting from the city. She is excited to have children her own age to play with, but when Rosie and Takeo arrive things don't go exactly as Lila imagines. They have cool hairstyles instead of a plain braid like Lila. They skateboard instead of biking. "Everything the cousins did was a little bit special," observes Lila after they show her how they make huge graffiti-inspired chalk-art outside. At dinner they ask for chopsticks, which Lila has never used and didn't even know her family owned. The cousins are never unkind—they style Lila's hair, take turns with the bike and skateboards, and give Lila tips on using chopsticks, but Lila still feels a bit inferior. After dark, Lila is excited to take her cousins for a walk and look for fireflies, but the cousins are nervous about being out at night and Lila again feels like an outsider. Lila's worry that her cousins don't enjoy the things she wants to share with them lasts throughout the visit, but doesn't make the story gloomy or heavy. The gentle plot captures the nuance of childhood friendships, and how small things can loom large for sensitive children like Lila. Yamasaki's lively mixed-media illustrations evoke strong feelings, and small background details reflect the author's own experience growing up as part of a large family. VERDICT A refreshing, reassuring, and honest story about family and friendship that stands out amid a sea of pat friendship stories.—Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

School Library Journal

★ 2018-04-16
In a story that's reminiscent of "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse," a young mixed Japanese-white girl savors creating summer memories with her cousins."The night before the cousins came, I couldn't sleep." Country girl Lila is excited to host city cousins Rosie and Takeo, who sport hair styled in "two puffy balls" and "a little shark fin," respectively. Her bucket list is full of simple pleasures, such as painting and camping outside. Luckily for her, her cousins are game, and they take turns teaching each other new things, such as skateboarding, riding a bike, and how to eat with chopsticks, " ‘Hold them like this,' said Takeo. I tried…and tried." (The page offers four amusing scenes of Lila first awkwardly using the unfamiliar utensils and then finally gaining mastery.) Lila also introduces her cousins to fireflies. " ‘What is that?!?' asked Takeo. I caught a firefly and cupped it in my hands. The firefly bumped gently against the walls of my palms. ‘Just look,' I whispered to Rosie." Yamasaki uses deceptively simple, carefully chosen language for the brief blocks of text on each page. The rest of the story is told through her paintings, which are defined by bright brush strokes of color. The overall effect is a quiet story that captures all those small cherished moments in childhood.A rare find about family featuring a mixed-raced protagonist. (Picture book. 4-7)

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When the Cousins Came

When the Cousins Came

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