The Relatives Came

This has been one of my absolute favorite books since my mom first read it to my first grade class nearly 20 years ago! We have relatives that come from afar, and our gatherings are pretty similar to those described in the book. I have given this book as a gift several times, and will continue to do so!

Warning: reading this book may inspire phone calls to parents and grandparents or, worse, may cause you to take leave of your senses and go on a long road trip with small children. Proceed at your own peril.

This is a really sweet book about the love of extended family. It resonated with me as a child because although we never lived close geographically to any of our aunts, uncles, cousins, or grandparents, whenever we did get the chance to visit, we made up for lost time. It resonates with me as a new mom for much the same reasons. Although fortunate enough to live close to one of my brothers, most of our family is spread out across the country and beyond. When my baby was born, every single member of both my and my husband's families found space in their schedules and budgets to make the trek out to meet him. All of those visits were so special to me.

The Relatives Came celebrates those people who are willing to leave hearth and home and those people who are willing to host lots of extra people, all in order to maintain and strengthen family bonds. The story and the illustrations both are beautiful. This would be a great book to read with a child before visiting or being visited by family, and would also make a great hostess gift if your family goes a-visiting.

** Review Originally Posted at Lector's Books **

I feel strangely compelled to write a review of this book. It makes me weep like a baby whenever I read it to my kids and it makes me weep even just writing here about it. What is wrong with me?? Haha. If you don't own this book you must get it. It's about how family is valuable above all else in the world and it reminds me of my childhood and family reunions and such. Just a bunch of imperfect people getting together and hugging. That's all we really want out of life, isn't it? This book is for ages 1-100.

In the past three years, my parents have visited us twice, staying with us for six months each time. My mother-in-law visited us twice, staying with us for six months during the first visit and for one month in the second visit. My aunt has visited us twice, staying with us for one month during each of her visits. All the visits were well-intended visits by grand parents and grand aunts to spend quality time with the children. During all these visits, the kids had a royal blast. They run to the my grand aunt whenever their evil mother is behind them with a glass of milk. They love bathing with my mother, go for long walks with my father and sit and recite songs with my mother-in-law. They love to curl with my parents or mother-in-law on lazy afternoons and sleep for an extra half-an-hour. They love it that they have a fresh, tasty, healthy snack waiting for them after their siesta. When you are in a situation in which you care for a child that you have not given birth to, you tend to be relaxed! This relaxed attitude is not spelt out in definite words but yet the children catch it and tune in to it.

But when it is time to say good bye, it is hard for both the relative and the child. The adult grieves that by the next visit the children would have grown up a little bit. They can't bear to think of the things they will miss - the first step, the first word, the softness of their skin, the way they smell etc. They are unsure if the children will remember them and if they will bond again when they meet the next time.

Well...for the children....it is even more difficult. They experience the same uncertainties, insecurities, turmoil, but the worst part, they don't have words to express their emotions. For the next month or so, the younger one is surprised that I am the only person who answers her cries. She tries crying a tad more and louder hoping against hope that may be grand mom/dad are sleeping and her cry will wake them. She is confused why she is not lifted and being fussed over for every single call for attention. The elder one, as soon as she is back from school, expects the door to open and a smiling face to pop out. Her face brightens the minute she sees idlis on her plate, she cries out in joy, `Idli!!! S patti where are you?', thinking that my mom had come back and has started making her famous idlis. The anger comes cold, raw, powerful and real when the respective grand parents have reached India and we talk to them over the phone. My elder child refuses to talk to the `deserters' and the younger one starts wailing when she hears their voice. All this despite of all the adults preparing the children and for the imminent good bye!

But life goes on.... teaching invaluable lessons of, `Each in their place', `What happened, happened for the good and what is happening is also for the good', `Out of sight is not out of mind', .....oh, I could go on and on...

This is the crux of the Caldecott honor book, The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. I wish I could quote every line in the book or scan every single picture and upload it...every word and every picture struck a chord in me. I am exercising immense self control and quoting a few lines as and when appropriate!

In this book, it is the time of summer vacation and the relatives come to visit from Virginia. They close down their house in Virginia, load their suitcases in their station wagon and leave in the wee hours of the morning. They drive all day long and all night long, thinking about both their closed down house in Virginia and the relatives they are going to meet at the end of the drive. When the relatives finally arrive there is much rejoicing, there are hugs and hugs and hugs.

`The relatives just passed us all around their car, pulling us against their wrinkled Virginia clothes, crying sometimes.

....

You'd have to go through at least four different hugs to get from the kitchen to the front room. Those relatives!'.

Then comes the sleeping time. The illustration shows a huge bunch of people scattered all over, some on beds, some on the floor, some squeezed with hands and legs over the person next to them.....for some reason, the image it brought to my mind was my grand mother's old village house-summer vacation time-whole family clustered in the hall-sleeping on make shift beds. And the author rightly puts it in to the words,

`It was different, going to sleep with all that new breathing in the house.'

When the vacation is over, the relatives load their station wagon and drive back to Virginia. After waving bye to the relatives, the family crawls back in to their beds, which now feels too big and too quite and goes back to sleep.

Whenever I read the book, I take poetic license and read to suit our context. One of the characters is picked to be grand mom or grand dad. I tell them that they can only visit us, but eventually they have to go back to `THEIR HOME', so on and so forth. Message is being well received and the book has now been successfully renamed as `Thatha Patti book'. :)

Review: The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, Stephen Gammel (Illustrator)

The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, Stephen Gammel (Illustrator) is a great book for summer reading. This one was a "Mama Pick" rather than an "Irene Pick", but both of us enjoyed The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant.

The relatives of the story get up early one summer morning, and drive from their home in Virginia to their relatives home across the state. They literally move in with their relatives for the summer. Much joy is had over the following weeks. Picnics, singing, and good old-timey summer fun is had by all. However, as fall approaches the relatives must pack up their retro-station wagon, and return home to Virginia in time to harvest their grapes.

The story is filled with family fun. If you are a parent who is looking for stories with traditional family values The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant fits the bill, and Stephen Gammel's illustrations only add to the story. Irene and I highly recommend The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. The Relatives Came

Cynthia@[...]

This book, "The Relatives Came" by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Stephen Gammell, was a delight to read. I found myself smiling as I read the words that made the artwork come alive. Likewise, I found myself recollecting over the memories of the past when my relatives would come to visit. Illustrations in this book are soft and pure, but brilliant. As you read the passages, you can point out a relative doing just that! My sons laughed so much since we just came from spending time with family. "...Some with an arm across one person and a leg across another..." Kids laughed so hard at that part, denying the fact they were the relative sleeping like a madmen. As a result, when the book expressed the joy, laughter, and celebration of family, it stirred up these memories of the past. Unquestionably, almost anyone, from children to adults, could find themselves reminiscing and longing for the fun they had when their relatives come to visit.

I can always reply on Cynthia Rylant for good books. This one is no exception. I love the illustrations as well as the wording. It is just a fun book to read to children or yourself. My children liked this book and especially enjoyed the illustrations. They would giggle and giggle over some of the relatives. It is nice to have books such as these. I continue to enjoy Ms. Rylant.

The Relatives Came
Written by: Cynthia Rylant
Illustrated by: Stephen Gammell
A Caldecott Honor Recipient
The Relatives Came is a Caldecott Honor Book and a well deserved one if I might say so myself. This story is sure to pull on the heartstrings in your heart that are reserved for your family. Illustrations in this book are soft and pure, but brilliant. They capture the emotions and feelings that these so called--"relatives" are feeling. This book takes me back to my childhood and reminds me of the great family reunion memories I have with my own family. This book will take you back to a time where family time was truly valued and families came for entire summers to visit their relatives. Now days our families are so busy we barely allow a day with our relatives! This book shows the unique bonds between families and some funny circumstances as well. These "relatives" are not afraid to show their emotions by any means! This book is a great remembrance of things that are most important in life--FAMILY!

Rylant, C. (1985). The Relatives Came. New York: Scholastic Inc.

This children's book is a joyous and hilarious visit by a very large family to relatives in another State. Although everything gets very hectic, when the relatives finally leave, everyone seems to miss the visitors right away and already are looking forward to the next visit. I think that every family can relate to this story. The book was illustrated by Stephen Gammell and it was a 1986 Caldecott Honor book (that is, a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a book for children.

This is a lovely, funny story about going to visit relatives that live far away (you never do find out where they are), and what happens when you get there. From going through a long line of hugging, to eating everything in sight, to the getting-to-know-you looks, to bunking down wherever there's a space. The text is warm and descriptive and the illustrations are evocative and amusing. I am lucky enough to have a family of extended relatives like these, and this books rings very true!

This book is different - the pictures, it rhymes, it's quick - there's so much you can do with this book if you're a teacher to inspire, evoke writing prompts & lessons - to discuss personal experiences, family, memoirs, & later on the 'art' of writing! Rylant's book,Snow, is also great!

This story is about some
family members from Virginia came down to some other relatives that lived
far away and the family from Virginia was staying for a couple of weeks. They finished with eating, playing, and hugging. At the end of the story, the family from Virginia goes back to their house, and wait `til next summer.

I liked this book because the book was about family time and this book will be good for any kid at anytime.

The relatives from Virginia packed themselves and their belongings into the typical old station wagon. They left their ripening grapes and headed up North to spend a wonderful summer with the rest of their family in "The Relatives Came". This Caldecott award winner depicts a typical summer of any close-knit American family. Stephen Gammel's bright array of colors and impressionist landscape reminds me of Vincent Van Gogh's work. The illustrations are full of life and excitement. These amazing illustrations bring out new meaning in Rylant's text. The great details of the illustrations are saturated with a vast rainbow of colors. The people's faces are so full of animation that the reader can feel their emotions. Gammel's detailed style almost tells the story without the text. There were so many detailed things in each illustration, that there were stories with in each illustration itself. While the family eats their big supper together, Gammel realistically illustrates a typical casual dinner scene. The food is falling of the serving plates, a baby accidentally knocks over a dish, and even the dog is begging for food. The illustrations are showing the typical chaos that will occur at a big family reunion, while Rylant's text subtly takes the reader through the course of the story. There was no mention in the text about anything that was going on in the illustration, besides the fact that they were eating. This allows the readers to interpret each scene in their own way. "The Relatives Came" epitomizes exactly what Sonia Landes described in her 1985 article, "Picture Books as Literature", Children's Literature Quarterly. She mentions how "one role of pictures in a picture book is to enhance meaning of the story by illustrating the words." I think that the illustrations carry the entire story. Rylant's text would not be entertaining on its own. Landes also claims that a "good picture book artist [will] go well beyond that by inventing and developing additional story material." Gammel clearly invented and developed additional story material in addition to the text in "The Relatives Came". One example is that the text plainly states, "...traveled up all night and finally they pulled into our yard." The picture shows the car full of people clumsily crashing into their relatives' fence. The reader would have never gotten that idea just from the words. Readers will begin to miss their aunts, uncles, and cousins when they read "The Relatives Came". This book is truly a reminder on how much fun it is to spend time with family all together. Cynthia Rylant and Stephen Gammel undoubtedly deserve their Caldecott honor. They created the perfect combination of a nice story that everyone can relate to, with illustrations detailed in vibrant color, animation, and a background that looked like it was painted by Van Gogh himself.

My favorite part of the story in The Relatives Came is when they were hugging for hours and hours. It made me think of my granddaddy visiting me on the weekend. We all hugged him for hours. My other favorite part in the story is when they were laughing and having a good time. This makes me think of when my granddaddy gave us candy. Then we all tried to pick him up. We laughed and laughed. We had a lot of fun.

the awsome car is very colorful like a rainbow, the relatives is like crazy and nosiy, they make a loud noise so no one can sleep before the relatives all sleep. but when the relatives back home, they find their bed is too quite.

Waiting for their grapes to turn purple, the relatives from Virginia load up their rainbow car and head off to visit their other relatives. Once they arrive, the days ahead are filled with hugging, eating, gardening, and helping each other out. Gammell illustartes, using a lot of roundness throughout the book, giving the illustrations a warm, happy feeling. The smooth and cheerful illustrations show the love and enjoyment of the relatives being together as a family. However, throughout the text, the narrator seems to be "making fun" of the relatives from Virginia. While the narrator tells how the relatives from Virginia have wrinkled clothes, the illustrations show that everyone has wrinkled, torn, or mismatched clothes. The narrator talks about these relatives as if they are "outcasts" by the way they dress, drive, and sleep. In the illustrations, Gammell shows all of relatives dressed and sleeping oddly. Unlike Rylant, he does not place emphasis just on the relatives from Virginia. In the article "Metalinguistic Awareness and the Child's Developing Concept of Irony: The Relationship between Pictures and Text in Ironic Picture Books" Bettina Kummerling-Meibauer disscusses how illustrations and texts can depict each other just as those of Rylant and Gammell. Gammell is trying to show the importance of family, while Rylant is focusing on the appearance and actions of the relatives from Virginia. Kummerling-Meibauer tells how children are developing the knowledge to recognize and understand irony. One type of irony which I believe appears in Rylant's book is "contradiction between picture and text"(162). Once again Gammell shows a happy family in his illustrations, while Rylant writes judgmental remarks about the family from Virginia. These remarks are not made in a disgraceful or nasty way, and they do not ruin the book, they add to it. This humorous book exemplifies family closeness. Even though the text and illustrations conflict with each other, the book is interesting to read to see how the relatives bond with each other. Since the text was written and then the illustrations were drawn, maybe Rylant wanted the relatives from Virginia to stand out and look different from the others.
Works Cited
Kummerling-Meibauer, Bettina. "Metalinguistic Awareness and the Child's Developing Concept of Irony: The Relationship between Pictures and Text in Ironic Picture Books." The Lion and the Unicorn 23.2 (1999):157-183.
Rylant, Cynthia. The Relatives Came. Illus. Stephen Gammell. New York: Alladin Paperbacks, 1985.

This book was selected to be included on a banned book list. While taking Children's Literature at West Virginia State College I was given the opportunity from Mr. Samples to explore the possible reasons why this book was challenged. After unlimited amount of time researching this book I never found a concrete answer why. Also, I did not find who had selected the book to be on the list. I did however have my own opinion of the possible reason. One of the illustrations in the book showed two cousins sleeping together, each were of the opposite sex. This would be the only "flaw" this book would have, overall this is a great book. I would highly recommend using this book with your students in a classroom. This book celebrates the meaning of family with hugs and more hugs. Please enjoy reading and re-reading The Relatives Came.

We borrowed the book and audiocassette from the library. We fell in love with the story and the relatives. We had to get our own, so that we could experience summertime fun with the relatives all year long!
Dasia reports, "This is a funny story about a funny family. They are so happy to see one another. They share everything... even breathing."
This is a must read for all families!

We first received "The Relatives Came," our first book by Cynthia Rylant, as a free paperback in a Cheerios box. We have cherished it so much that we've purchased it for friends and also bought a large hardback version for our family. It is a precious story about the love of family and how they work and play together during their much-anticipated, lengthy family reunions. The illustrations are incredible and truly fun. We love this book so much that we've bought other Cynthia Rylant books, "Christmas in the Country" and "When I Was Young in the Mountains," and they are also fabulous and highly-recommended. Ms. Rylant's books are treasures to our family because they speak of simpler times and the sweetest things in life.

This is an excellent book which abounds with lots of wonderful memories from my childhood. Having grown up in the city, I loved to visit my grandparents who lived in the mountains of Pennsylvania. It brought back wonderful memories like the frightening walks to the outhouse at night,snakes in the grass and warm and loving grandparents.

It's a great book to bridge the past with the present with students or your own children. Enjoy!

I love this book, especially for kids with big families. As an adult from a big family it is equally fun to read. This account of the journey and the visit at the relatives' house is written from a refreshingly honest child's point of view. A completely delightful read-to book. I bought a copy for all my kids with children.

Can be the inspiration for many writing ideas- character sketches of family members, preparing for guests, positives and negatives of having company, missing those who live far away, family traditions, what do you all do when you get together, etc.

I use it for a writing springboard for my 4th grade class.

Those relatives just hugged for hours and hours. It takes 4 or 5 hugs to get from one room to another.They all slept on the floor. Also, the relatives, fixed all the things that were broken. They ate all the watermelons and strawberries. Then they had to leave. This is a good book for people who like trips.

I am an elementary education major at West Virginia State University. I am currently taking Children's Literature with Prof. Roger Samples where we just completed a project on a Caldecott honor book. For my book, I read The Relatives Came. I thought that overall, The Relatives Came was a great book. It was a great story about the closeness of a family and the joy and excitement that is felt when they are together. Not only was this a great story, but it had some very nice and detailed illustrations. Stephen Gammell's illustrations are like an added bonus that goes along with Cynthia Rylant's great writing. Some books can often tell the story either without the pictures or the words present. That is not the case with The Relatives Came. They both play a key role in the telling of the story.

Bambi's Fragrant Forest is based on the original story by Felix Salten.
Children will enjoy this story, because it is about a deer getting immune to its habitat and adjusting to everything. This book will be very interesting, and will keep your child reading.
Children can learn about adjusting to new things, and getting to like them.
This story is about a baby deer, and its mother in the forest. The baby deer's name is Bambi, and he goes around in the woods looking for new friends, but this experience is new to him, so he is very nervous.

This book reminds me so much of my family gatherings...even though it's set in a different part of the country. I love it, and have sent it to my sisters and their families as well. It's a Caldecott award winning book, one that should be read by generations of families. Who wants to stay at the Marriott when you can sleep on the floors and sofas at your cousins house? Family....isn't it about time?

We found this book second hand somewhere - and when we read it, we knew we had discovered a treasure. We took it to my sister's - read it outloud to only adults. We read it to our grandchildren. It is a lovely book filled with something very good about life on earth. Transcends these people - hits us all.

This book is wonderful- the text and the illustrations! It is a perfect book for pre-K through 3rd grade.
It is such a warm and humorous book without being corny. I just laughed and laughed!

What a great end-of-year book for teachers to read to their class!

Cynthia H. Morgan

I am an elementary school teacher.
Today I read the book titled The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, to my class of 2nd graders.
All I can say is..... "What an awesome experience!"
My students enjoyed the book so much!! I had to read and reread it over and over again. My students then decided they wanted to write their own personal stories about memorable family gatherings. They began brainstorming and now are each writing their very own "Relatives" stories.
What an impact and inspiration this great little story was for my class of 7 year olds.....tomorrows future authors.

Cynthia Rylant is an award winning author who writes from her heart and childhood experiences. This book is not only great reading, but the illustrations appeal to both children and the child in you. Each page is filled with a great story told through words and pictures. A must have for everyone!

The title of the book says Relatives are coming to see someone - wonder who it is!
This charming book with even more expressive charming illustrations is hilarious
with all the fun actions of the "relatives" when they come. Kids and adults will
enjoy reading and laughing together. It is one of my favorite books - call them
"hillbillies" if you wish, but they really are "all of us!" Take a peek and enjoy!
And remember - your own relatives may be coming to see YOU!

My favorite part of the story is when they traveled and they saw strange houses and bigger mountains. This part reminds me of when I was traveling to my cousin's house. I saw a baseball field and townhouse. It was beautiful too.