School Library Journal Starred Review (Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

K-Gr 2 Lila eagerly anticipates the arrival of her two cousins who are visiting from the city. She is excited to have children her own age to play with, but when Rosie and Takeo arrive things don't go exactly as Lila imagines. They have cool hairstyles instead of a plain braid like Lila. They skateboard instead of biking. "Everything the cousins did was a little bit special," observes Lila after they show her how they make huge graffiti-inspired chalk-art outside. At dinner they ask for chopsticks, which Lila has never used and didn't even know her family owned. The cousins are never unkindthey style Lila's hair, take turns with the bike and skateboards, and give Lila tips on using chopsticks, but Lila still feels a bit inferior. After dark, Lila is excited to take her cousins for a walk and look for fireflies, but the cousins are nervous about being out at night and Lila again feels like an outsider. Lila's worry that her cousins don't enjoy the things she wants to share with them lasts throughout the visit, but doesn't make the story gloomy or heavy. The gentle plot captures the nuance of childhood friendships, and how small things can loom large for sensitive children like Lila. Yamasaki's lively mixed-media illustrations evoke strong feelings, and small background details reflect the author's own experience growing up as part of a large family. VERDICT A refreshing, reassuring, and honest story about family and friendship that stands out amid a sea of pat friendship stories. Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

ALA Booklist (Tue May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Lila is thrilled when her cousins Rosie and Takeo come to visit. Lila has a baby brother, but he is too young to be much fun. She cannot wait to have company closer to her own age. The cousins, however, are not exactly what Lila expects. Being from the city, they do things a little differently. Lila has a bicycle; they have skateboards. Lila paints a picture; they paint a mural on a fence. They know how to use chopsticks to eat their noodles. Even their hairstyles seem sophisticated. Lila thinks, "Everything the cousins did was a little bit extra special." Rosie and Takeo learn that the country has its own appeal when they nervously agree to a night walk and discover the magic of fireflies. A planned campout is canceled due to rain, but the children make an elaborate indoor tent, one big enough for all three of them to share. Mixed-media collage illustrations, incorporating acrylic, gouache, pastels, colored pencil, and hand-painted cut paper, beautifully present the multiethnic family.

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Lila's happy when her visiting city cousins, Rosie and Takeo, do her hair and play with her outside. But Lila starts to feel left out when she sees her cousins using chopsticks better than she can. While the text never mentions it, Lila's ethnic identity appears to be different from that of her cousins. With vibrant mixed-media collages, this is a quiet story of how people from different backgrounds and cultures can learn from each other.