Cousin John is Coming! written by Elise Broach

Lock the doors! Pack your bags! Run for your life! Sneaky Cousin John only acts like a bully when adults aren’t around, so Mom doesn’t know it’s a battle of wills every visit. Ben and his kitty are on the verge of fleeing . . . when inspiration strikes. Suddenly, he and his loyal kitty have reason to think that this visit will be fun, even if it’s not the way Mom imagines.

Enriched by the sly details in the comic-book-style illustrations, this mischievous story recognizes that sometimes a kid has to fend for himself. It’s an amusing twist on the tale of David vs. Goliath—sure to empower the little guy!

REVIEWS

Publishers Weekly

When Mom announces Cousin John is coming for a visit, the story's protagonists a boy and his cat experience a series of flashbacks and premonitions straight out of Grand Guignol. Unbeknownst to Mom, Cousin John is a bully par excellence. So while she's talking up the visit (hers is the only voice heard in the book) with bubbly exhortations such as, "for the whole weekend, we'll do just what you boys want to do," the heroes recall with horror the time John dangled them over an alligator pond, and gird themselves for upcoming games of pretend pirate play in which John will force them to walk the plank into a pit of porcupines and barbed wire. All seems lost until Mom reveals Cousin John's Achilles heel, which inspires the heroes to hatch plans of sweet revenge. The premise of clueless-adult-meets-evil-spawn-relative begins to wear thin about midway through the book. Readers may find themselves growing a bit numb to Cousin John's crimes, even when the visual litany is broken up with a few scenes of the underdogs triumphing. But readers will likely be won over by the hip, edgy and slightly sinister rendering style of debuting illustrator Lilly. His button-eye, expressive characters and humorous attention to detail recall classic comic-strip characters. Broach's (Wet Dog!) chirpy, keenly observed text acts as an effective comic foil to her collaborator's vision of an all-in-the-family near-apocalypse. Ages 4-up. (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3- When his blissfully out-of-touch mother announces Cousin John's upcoming visit, Ben and his cat flash back to all their previous encounters with this obnoxious relative and immediately start worrying. The lively text consists entirely of Mom's happy chatter about the fun the boys will have playing "cowboys-and superheroes- and magicians," but the accompanying illustrations tell a very different story, in which Ben usually plays John's hapless victim. Just as Ben and his cat are heading for the door, planning to escape, they learn that poor John has developed a violent allergy to felines and suffers terribly if one so much as approaches him. So, with high-fives and sidesplitting laughter, they roll out the red carpet and prepare to welcome their guest with open arms and plenty of pet dander. Barbara Bottner's Bootsie Barker Bites (Putnam, 1992) tells much the same story, but Broach's version, featuring male characters and radically different art, is by no means redundant. In Lilly's cartoon illustrations, created with pencil and digital color, the backgrounds are busier, the color scheme is harsher, and Cousin John looks like Eddie Munster gone evil. A fun choice for all collections. Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.