Cousin Irv from Mars by Bruce Eric Kaplan (review)

Teddy didn't even know he had a cousin from Mars, but now Irv has come to stay with the family. Teddy's grownup Martian cousin may be an exotic green guy with antennae, but he's also a passive-aggressive kvetch with a ton of annoying habits. When Cousin Irv has to escort Teddy to school, however, Irv shows off his fancy electromagnetic ray and vaporizes everything in the classroom (including the teacher who tries to spoil the fun), causing all of the other students to clamor for Teddy and Irv's attention. Cousin Irv and Teddy become the best of friends ("Cousin Irv let Teddy eat pizza in the bath because he didn't know you didn't do that"), until Irv has to go home and Teddy must learn to live without his new friend—but not for long, since it looks like Teddy's family will be moving to Mars. The lengthy text drags a little, and the story's fairly predictable, but Kaplan has a wry voice, adding one-liner commentary to the tale ("Other people's coats make you feel so much safer than your own"). Kaplan, better known as a cartoonist for the New Yorker, showcases his distinctive style—his ink drawings with chunky feet, bulging eyes, and indistinct objects are here enhanced with messy watercolor that splashes beyond the lines in only a handful of pastel hues. Irv, with his leaf-green tint and big, expressive mouth, especially steals the show. However, the large amount of white space and lack of illustrative detail make the text do most of the heavy lifting for this story, a task it's not quite up to. The illustrations are certainly kid-friendly, though and this could easily pair with titles such as Pam Smallcomb's Earth to Clunk (BCCB 7/11 and Arthur Yorinks' Company's Coming and Company's Going (BCCB 1/02) for an out-of-this-world storytime.