What A Truly Cool World - Hardcover

JOE CEPEDA has illustrated many books for children, including What a Truly Cool World by Julius Lester and Nappy Hair by Carolivia Herron. He lives in Whittier, California. DARCY PATTISON is the author of The River Dragon, illustrated by Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng, as well as the fantasy novel The Wayfinder. She teaches writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and reviews children's books for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She lives in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

PreSchool-Grade 2-Lester and Cepeda depict a down-to-earth God to whom children can relate in this remarkable book. Pleased with his creation of the world, He is about to call it an early night. Then Shaniqua, "the angel in charge of everybody's business," bustles in with the observation that the green, brown, and blue planet looks kind of boring. God agrees, and a series of amazingly creative acts results in the making of flowers and butterflies. With the help of Bruce, God's personal assistant, and Shaniqua's helpful suggestions, the world becomes more colorful and beautiful, as does Heaven. Children will feel completely at home in the "great beyond" with its overstuffed chairs, vacuum cleaners, and framed photographs on the walls. Heaven's inhabitants are also very much like the people they know. (Everybody has at least one Shaniqua in the neighborhood.) The vibrant oil paintings are cartoonlike in style, with a quiet humor that reflects the playful text. The main characters are African American but there is great diversity among the "Hallelujah Angelic Choir." As in Patricia McKissack's Mirandy and Brother Wind (Knopf, 1988), the dialogue is in a casual dialect, making it seem even more approachable. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of all is the way that God and the Heavenly community cooperate to get the job of Creation finished as perfectly as possible. While this is not your average Bible story, it is one that is not to be missed. It's unique, inspired, and truly cool.
Torrie Hodgson, Burlington Public Library,
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