How to be Cooler Than Cool
by Sean Taylor
illustrated by Jean Jullien
Candlewick Press, 2021. 36 pages.
Review written April 8, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review
I’ve got a whole category of Delightfully Silly picture books, and this book fits right in with a story that makes my heart smile. I was already a big fan of these creators from their book Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise, and this book is equally quirky and wonderful.
As the book opens, Cat finds a pair of sunglasses. And they bring a revelation:
“You know what,” she said.
“I’m not just any old cat at the playground.
I’m a real cool cat who can glide backward down the slide, looking cooler than cool . . .
WITH EXTRA COOL ON TOP!”
But gliding down the slide doesn’t go as Cat had hoped, and among other things, the sunglasses go flying off her face.
Cockatoo finds them.
“You know what,” he said.
“I’m not just any old cockatoo.
I’m a supercool cockatoo
who can dance coolly along the seesaw,
doing the supercool cockatoo boogaloo!”
>
But Cockatoo’s antics, too, don’t end up as cool as he’d hoped.
Some more animals get into the act, and the book finishes up with a wonderful message that it’s not about trying to be cool — it’s all about having fun.
But the fun part to this book is of course how it gets there — the expressive faces in the pictures, the comments in speech bubbles, and yes, seeing animals who think they’re cool having a downfall.
This book is more for Kindergarten through first graders than preschoolers, and if I were booktalking in schools this year, this would be on top of my list. It would also work great for family storytimes — or, okay, anyone who has five minutes to read it. Yes, this is the sort of book I push on my coworkers to make them smile.
Read this book! You’ll be cooler than cool if you do!
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/how_to_be_cooler_than_cool.html
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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