The Truth About Cousin Ernie’s Head

This book is currently out of print and is not available for purchase.
1996, Simon & Schuster
ISBN Hardcover: 0689801793

Once again it’s time for Thanksgiving at grandmother’s house—that fun-filled holiday when all the relatives gather to give thanks, and to argue about times gone by.

Was Aunt Helen really at the liver and onions tattoo barbecue? Why did Aunt Edith keep toads in the trunk? And just what was it that landed on Cousin Ernie’s head?

Be prepared. This year the real truth comes out.

A nice change from all the sweetly nostalgic holiday stories about extended families, this funny picture book is for any child who has to suffer noisy, overbearing adult relatives with their ritualized memories and grudges. As usual, all of Ernie’s family gather at his grandmother’s for Thanksgiving. And, as usual, they are all soon loudly arguing about what really happened when . . . . Then Ernie finds an old family movie in the attic that documents the way things did happen. The loudmouths are silenced. But Ernie is sad to see them crushed, and he soon works out a way to get the crazy, noisy conversations going again. The garishly colored, New Age-style illustrations express the boy’s view of these eccentric characters shouting around the dinner table. The fun is in the details, in the wild exaggeration, and in the sense of a calm child surrounded by adult farce.
— Booklist