Some Good News

Cobble Street Cousins #4

by Cynthia Rylant, Wendy Anderson Halperin (Illustrator)

Meet the

Cobble Street Cousins

* Lily, who wants to be a poet *

* Tess, who wants to be a Broadway star *

* Rosie, who wants a little cottage with flowers by the door *

It's spring on Cobble Street, and Lily has a great idea -- the Cobble Street Cousins' own newspaper! Soon the very first edition of The Cobble Street Courier is hot off the presses, with a poem by Lily, Tess's favorite jokes, and Rosie's yummy recipe for shortbread -- even an interview with Aunt Lucy's boyfriend, Michael. Now it's time to deliver the paper to all the cousins' old friends on Cobble Street -- and a couple of new ones!

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Chapter Books, Writing, Family, Realistic Fiction, Picture Books

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

Cynthia Rylant is an American author, poet, and librarian whose deeply felt books for children and young adults have made her one of the most beloved voices in contemporary literature. Writing across picture books, novels, short stories, nonfiction, and poetry, she has published more than one hundred works, many of them rooted in memory, family, solitude, and the emotional landscapes of ordinary life. Her fiction often draws from her upbringing in West Virginia and reflects the textures of Appalachian life with unusual tenderness and clarity.
Raised in modest circumstances, Rylant spent much of her childhood with her grandparents in a rural setting that later became central to her imagination as a writer. Those early years, marked by hardship as well as warmth, shaped the emotional honesty and quiet resilience that define her work. She later studied English and library science, and after working as a waitress, librarian, and teacher, she began publishing books inspired by the world she had known so intimately.
Among her most acclaimed works are Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust, a Newbery Honor Book. She also earned Caldecott Honors for When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came. For younger readers, she became especially well known through the enduring Henry and Mudge series, as well as other popular books and series that combine gentleness, humor, and emotional depth.
Rylant's writing is distinguished by its compassion for lonely, searching, or overlooked characters, and by its reverence for animals, nature, and small human connections. Whether writing about grief, wonder, childhood, or belonging, she brings a lyrical simplicity that resonates across generations. Her books continue to offer comfort, recognition, and beauty to readers of all ages. She remains a singular literary presence in children's literature and beyond today.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet as can be, like all the books in the series. Appreciate the emphasis on creativity, neighborhood spirit, and connecting with lonely elderly members of the community (and showing they still have much to offer). Wish there were more issues of the girls’ newspaper but that’s just cause I published a newsletter when I was their ages so it’s totally my cup of tea ;-)

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet and funny little book. My children loved the humor and the tenderness. I am a big fan of how much focus Cynthia Rylant puts on elderly neighbors. Nearly every book of hers that we have read has hightled a single person of senior age and always with such vitality and warmth. I think that these books will do great things for my children's love of the neighbors.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought their newspaper idea was super fun!

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 4th installment of the sweet Cobble Street Cousins series is set in early spring. The cousins create their own neighborhood newspaper and expand their circle of friends. Early-middle-grade fiction. Lovely pencil illustrations by Wendy Anderson Halperin.

[Caroline Herfindahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another charming book about three girl cousins and their time together at Aunt Lucy's house. The girls put together a newspaper for the neighborhood and make lots of new friends in the process.

[Miz Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one comes after the winter solstice one. It is spring and Lily has another great idea. They girls all love Cobble Street and their neighbors so much, they decide to create a newspaper with interviews, poems, and jokes. This series has a lot of great ideas for creative play of the type I enjoyed as a child, which is probably a large part of its appeal to me. A very small nod to diversity is added to this volume as a new neighbor, widowed retired Senator Harrison, is depicted in the illustrations a person of color.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't just read one Rylant book...especially when I am lucky enough to find 2 on the shelf at the library. This one was a fun one too...3 cousins who are staying with their Aunt Lucy on Cobble Street and their adventure of deciding to write a newspaper of the things happening in their town.

A quick feel good read...as I find almost all of her books to be.

[liso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these sweet and simple stories about creativity and fun attic hideouts. Especially loved this book where the girls write their own newspapers. They always give my kids some inspiration of things they want to make.

[Kylie Abney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norah and I read this book together the last few days! I read some and she read some. It’s fun she is old enough for chapter books now. We both thought the story was cute but not very exciting - no adventure! We probably won’t reach for one of these books again.

[Jlnpeacock Peacock · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book has such positive traits and excitement in what three little girls can accomplish. Their care and love for neighbors and each other is a wonderful thing with which to fill the minds of our children.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three cousins, staying with their aunt while their parents travel, decide to write a newspaper about and for the residents of Cobble Street. Complete with charming illustrations.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book all at once. I like the Cobble Street Cousin books.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The foreshadowing continues with a slip of the tongue, and the cast list expands. But not much else happens.

[Blaire Watanabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book to read with my 9 year old daughter. These cobble street cousins are inspiring and worth emulating.

[Rose McCallum · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so cool how you got to read the newspaper that they made! I had no idea that they were going to do that, I thought the good news was the parents were coming!

[Aneesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every kid's dream

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

yardley is my spirit animal

[Meredith Nunley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Michael Lucy wedding was finally teased.

[K. Breen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really the most development I’ve seen in the series so far. It’s picking up a lot of the slack that should have been taken care of in book 1.

[Kayley Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favorite of the series! I adore these books and I hope I can give them to every little girl I know as they grow up.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are such sweet little chapter books for early readers. I love them so much, and so does my daughter!

[sun dried library · Rating 5 out of 5]

<3

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books in the Cobble Street Cousins series are feel-good books about being creative and loving and having fun. The girls all get along wonderfully and have the nicest ideas, especially to their elderly neighbors. We've really enjoyed reading the books in this series and we are looking forward to the final book, Wedding Flowers (We read Summer Party first, not realizing that it was part of a series, so we went back and read all of the previous stories. Now we are caught up and ready for the ending.)

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle chapter book in an old fashioned style where it's more a series of events than a problem with conflicts. Each girl is lovable, just the kind of friend a reader would want. The venture of creating a neighborhood newspaper is a plot young fans will want to tackle themselves. The Cobble Street neighborhood is the perfect idyllic setting. The inclusion of the newspaper at the end with jokes, a recipe, and funny interviews makes the whole a sweet treat and a nice addition to a series they'll enjoy over and over.

[Yumi Learner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the forth book of the series today. I quite enjoy reading each book. I especially like the forth one. Each book has a season, and the forth book season is my favorite season, spring!

In the forth book, we have a new character. He is a friend of Michael's grandfather. What is the coincidence! We also have a new animal character. He is a pet dog of Michael's father. Although I am a big fan of dogs, I am very curious of the dog.

So, I can't wait to read what will happen to next!

[Mags · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remembering falling in love with the people of Cobblestreet when I first read this in elementary school. I adored the three girls, I adored the aunt and Michael, and I adored the flower shop. Yes, the characters are underdeveloped, and it's not the greatest book ever written, but it has a certain charm that will definitely appeal to children.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, to have fun with one's cousins and these three are having an adventure living together with Aunt Lucy for the year. In this title the girls write a newspaper about Cobble Street and give it to their neighbors. The newspaper and its stories are shown in the illustrations.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the last book that I read in this series. The Cobble Street Cousin send out their own newspaper!
(In Comparison: This is like a younger version of the Beacon Street Girls.)

[Sandee Mariner · Rating 3 out of 5]

i felt like the main characters were under-developed. but it was cute and taught good social skills.