Oh No, The Aunts Are Here by Adam Rex

Abstract

Reviewed by: Oh No, The Aunts Are Here by Adam Rex Kate Quealy-Gainer Rex, Adam Oh No, The Aunts Are Here; illus. by Lian Cho. Chronicle, 2023 [40p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781797207940 $16.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 5-8 yrs Our young protagonist's quiet breakfast becomes decidedly less so with the arrival of her four aunts, who are armed with fanny packs, hand sanitizers, and an overwhelming lack of physical boundaries. After enduring a predictable (but not at all enjoyable) round of hugging, pinching, and poking, the bewildered young girl is then grilled on nearly every life topic as they drive to the (not at all) exciting Quilt Museum. That evening, the aunts take over the girl's bedroom, and the next morning, they've co-opted bathrooms, showers, and the breakfast tables—but wait, there's one more aunt than last night, and she's particularly hairy and fearsome looking. "It's a wolf. A wolf 's come to eat you," but the aunts quickly dispatch of the fearsome canine and then promptly turn into colorful birds, chatting away as they fly off. The dip into the absurd wolf storyline is an odd but wise authorial choice, rescuing the aunts' image as much as it (literally) rescues the girl: the four relentlessly annoying women come to her aid when needed, making a sweet allegory for finding support among family, even when that family is especially chaotic. The narrative's direct address enhances the potential for relatability here, and plenty of kids will find kinship with the girl beleaguered by ruthlessly interfering relatives. Loose linework calls up Patricia Polacco's styling with an added dash of vibrant cartoonishness, and the aunts move through the pages with vim and vigor, dominating the spreads as much as they dominate their niece's current situation. While she appreciates the aunts' dealing with the wolf, the little girl clearly is happy to see them gone . . . until more relatives show up in the last page. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois