Cousin John Is Coming

Broach, E. B. (2006). Cousin john is coming. New York City: Dial

           This book is written by Elise Broach. It was published in 2006. This book is about a young boy named Ben and his nameless cat. 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. Ben and his cat come up with a plan to make sure that John's visit is anything but fun. This story is for kindergarten till about grade 3. This book is a humorous picture book. The language quality is perfect for young readers. The illustrations are just amazing. They really invite response. The illustrations enhance and extend the meaning of the text on each page of the story. The illustrations in the story present things in a new way. This book is just so great for little kids. It has a wonderful story and meaning. The students could read this book independently and then discuss how they feel about it what they liked and did not. The students could also write a comic strip about what they would do to get rid of a cousin like cousin John and then share their comic with the class. As a teacher you can ask your students why cousin John tortures Ben like that? Is John what they consider a bully? How do you think cousin John gets away with treating Ben and his cat like that in their house? Is Ben's mother clueless? and what would they do if they were Ben? I liked this story I picked it up just because of the illustrations on the cover and I ended up really enjoying this book. The author is very well known for her works in children's books. She is recognized by the New York Times best children's author.  This book will be in my book collection forever. I will read it to my future students and even my children. I loved this book.