The Relatives Came

Summary: From School Library Journal The title of Rylant's exuberant tale is an understatement, for when "those relatives" came, they came en masse and they came for an extended stay. Their anticipation at seeing kin during their long, long drive and finally hugging them "against their wrinkled Virginia clothes" set the tone for this welcome family reunion, a visit that never wears thin. The relatives are depicted as a support system to help a fatherless family with all the things that need to be done in and around their house. In down-to-earth language that harbors strong emotion, Rylant recounts the festive celebration of the relatives' stay and the ensuing sadness when they depart. The relatives in question are a large rural brood, depicted, in Gammell's joyous color pencil drawings, as running the gamut from porcine to scrawny, old to young and rowdy to silent. In pictures of this group hugging, eating and sleeping, the unspoken closeness of the unnamed relatives can be felt. Theme: Family Curricular Use: Read aloud. Level: Ages 4-8 Illustration: Large and highly supportive. --- I love this book! It is one I have read and reread. I love the warm and happy reunion of family...it reminds me a great deal of our annual visits from AZ (where we lived) to Utah (where my maternal grandparents lived). Or even of family gatherings at my paternal grandparents' home. We lived very close to my paternal grandparents but some of my aunts, uncles and cousins didn't and so when they would come to visit, we would all gather at my grandparents to visit and hug and play. (But we wouldn't stay there to sleep, although those visiting would.). It makes me nostalgic. Things I love: I love the humor and warmth conveyed in the illustrations. I love the description of them sleeping, with arms draped across each other and that "It was different, going to sleep with all that new breathing in the house." Rylant has a way with words, expressing a great deal in just a few well placed words. Another example: "You'd have to go through at least four different hugs to get from the kitchen to the front room. Those relatives!" This is a personal favorite that never fails to delight me. I have also used it to model how students might write personal narratives.------The first time I heard this book, I was in a class about using literature in the classroom, and our professor read it aloud to us. The lively illustrations enhance the story about relatives coming to visit, and it brings to mind my own childhood memories of visiting distant family. I like to read this book with my children at the open and close of summer vacation especially. It captures the anticipation of visiting loved ones and the satisfaction found in returning home.