When My Cousins Come to Town

A fun, lively story of Black family and cousin culture that celebrates individuality and embraces differences.

Fitting in can be hard, but standing out isn’t easy either!

Every summer a young girl eagerly waits for her cousins to come visit and celebrate her birthday. All her cousins are unique in their own ways and have earned cool nicknames for themselves… except for the girl. But this year things are going to be different. This year before summer ends, she’s determined to earn her own nickname!

Filled with warmth, love, and laughter, When My Cousins Come to Town brings all the energy and love of a big family to prove that you don’t need to be anyone else to be special―just the way you are is exactly right!

Angela Shanté is a writer and author of the children's book The Noisy Classroom, as well as a poet, editor, and educator, with a Masters in Elementary Education and an MFA in Creative Writing. She has taught elementary school for ten years. Angela grew up in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles, California.


Keisha Morris is an illustrator and writer, with a BFA in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Her work has been published in children's books as well as on T-shirts. She lives in Reno, Nevada.

• Publisher: West Margin Press (May 4, 2021)
• Language: English
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• ISBN-10: 1513267221
• ISBN-13: 9781513267227
• Reading age: 6 - 9 years
• Lexile measure: 660L
• Grade level: 1 - 4
• Item Weight: 12 ounces
• Dimensions: 8.1 x 0.4 x 10 inches