Cousins

Lavoie, Laura and Leal, Luisa (illus.) Cousins

May 27, 2025 by Roaring Brook Press

Copy provided by the publisher

Ella is very excited to go to her Grandma June's house so that she can see her family, including her six cousins, who range in age from a toddler to a preteens. The children play dress, have a baseball game, get caught in the rain and dry off for dinner, and make a plea to their grandmother to have a cousins' sleepover. Grandma June gives in, of course, and the parents help the children settle into sleeping bags on the living room floor for the night. There are spooky stories and late night snacks before the cousins finally fall asleep after their day of togetherness. 

As someone who has 38 cousins but never had a sleepover with them, this was great fun to read. Ella is lucky that her cousins are all about her age, and that Grandma June is young enough to take care of all of them! The families are depicted as somewhat diverse; some members have slightly darker skin, although there is no cultural identification. It's good to see that the family members are all close, and also to see that the children make an effort to be "extra good" so that they will be allowed to have a sleepover, although it is implied that this was the plan all along. 

I loved that the children were all close in age and were amenable to playing the same imaginative games, even including the littlest cousins. They also help out with clean up and get along well, although there is a little tiff about the best kind of pie. (According to my Uncle Chuck, this was cherry, but I maintained my allegiance to apple!) I loved that Ella cleaned up the mess her cousins made with the Mississippi mud pie, and that the two ended up sharing. 

Whether you come from a large brood or just wish that you were part of one, it's fun to read about the antics of family get togethers. This title is closely related to Madhani's Eli and the Uncles, del Mazo and Alvarez's Cousins, LaRocca's Mauntie and Me or Summer is for Cousins, or the extended family portrayed in Lucido and Demirag's Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta.