  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 07/01/2013 PreS-Gr 3—An unnamed child tells of the glorious day with "beastie" cousins at a family reunion, "running with hearts hungry for hugs and tummies hungry for treats." Politeness is thrown to the wind as the cousins make themselves at home, bursting through doors and leaping into the creek, playing wild games, and annoying older siblings. They spit watermelon seeds and grab at fireflies, until they finally sleep wherever they happen to fall in the relative-packed house. Crum's text is energetically lyrical: "We are drummers of song and magicians of laughter./Our hair, spiked with mud,/proclaims us astounding." Catrow's warts-and-all illustration style is especially fitting here; those squint-eyed mugs are just right on cousins shaking their fannies and throwing underwear out of the windows with wild abandon. Author and illustrator together have captured the manic energy of cousins unleashed.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 09/15/2013 “Oh, we are rowdy ogres.” When cousins—or “beasties”—get together at the family reunion, it’s absolute chaos. Family members arrive, and there are hugs and hellos all around. But there is also mud to roll in and adventures to be had, so the kids are off and running. Moving en masse like a swarm of bugs, the dozens of cousins rule the roost, noisily leaving behind a path of destruction. There’s also food, piled high on the picnic table, and watermelon seeds to spit. Crum’s high-energy verse captures the pure, unadulterated joy of cousins convened, who can run free and uninhibited, finally dropping like flies at the end of the day. And Catrow sure captures the quirky crew. In his signature style, there are also roly-poly, pinched-cheek grandmas; babies in sagging diapers; and, of course, a dog, thrilled to be along for the ride. It’s an exuberant and comfortable time with family, and many kids will relate. A spirited read-aloud for summertime fun, to be paired with Cynthia Rylant’s The Relatives Came (1985). - Copyright 2013 Booklist. Loading...
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