Bodies Are Cool: A picture book celebration of all kinds of bodies

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This cheerful love-your-body picture book for preschoolers is an exuberant read-aloud with bright and friendly illustrations to pore over. The giant boulder of diet culture fell on me so soon after that. But to remember that there was this moment where I genuinely couldn’t understand why he would want to have a different body than what he had,” she said. “What if all kids just stayed that way? And they just kept thinking that bodies are just bodies, you don’t have to aggressively change them. Wouldn’t that be so great?” Grief can be crushing, but this heartfelt memoir will comfort those who have known it and gently show those who haven’t how to help and what to expect.” — Booklist, starred review

There were many different kinds of fat bodies. There were taut fat bellies, and there were bellies with multiple low-hanging rolls. From the author and illustrator of the gorgeous and solemn graphic memoir, Dancing at the Pity Party, comes a lively and glorious picture book that is all about body positivity from head to toe. The story is anthemic and reads like an affirmation, highlighting all the lovely types of bodies out there and how they are really cool. Feder’s inclusive book will instill confidence and pride! By the time we met on Zoom in March, she couldn’t remember precisely what it was she’d been reacting to that day in late October. “I think that was when one of the Kanye West antisemitism things was happening,” she said. Perhaps it was the demonstrators who stood behind banners that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” and, “Honk if you know,” on a Los Angeles freeway overpass that weekend, extending their arms forward in Nazi salutes.

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This book presents a fuller, more colorful view of humanity to children, humanity that is all all around us, humanity that is too often cropped out, left out, never shown, rarely included. If people are created in God's image, that image is colorful and full of shapes and sizes and decorations and swirls and dots and hard parts and soft parts and jiggly parts and hairy parts. Bodies are cool shows how cool that image really might begin to be if more bodies are included in the picture. After the author’s mother dies of uterine cancer when her oldest daughter is 19, Feder (Unladylike for adults) finds herself longing for something “that cradles my grief without smothering Continue reading » My first solo work is a fully-illustrated graphic memoir about my mom’s death during spring break of my sophomore year of college. It’s sad but also silly and weird, just like loss. The pastel-toned illustrations effectively convey Feder's youth and the intensity of her emotions while emphasizing the ultimate message of survival and resilience in the face of life-changing grief. Cathartic and uplifting." — Kirkus This anthology, edited by Kelly Jensen,explores feminism through the voices of 44 diverse writers, poets, artists, dancers, and actors.

On two readings, I don’t think I saw a single person with albinism. Again, given how thorough the book usually seemed, this was a surprise. I really wish it weren’t the case. A bustling celebration of body positivity that lovingly features bodies, skin, and hair of all kinds . . . Feder chooses clear and unapologetic language to describe body characteristics, challenging the negative connotations that are often attached to those bodies . . . Depicting societally marginalized human bodies in all their joyful, normal glory, this book is cool." — Kirkus, starred review Authored by celebrated disability rights advocate, speaker, and writer Emily Ladau, this practical, intersectional guide offers all readers a welcoming place to understand disability as part of the human experience.

A bustling celebration of body positivity that lovingly features bodies, skin, and hair of all kinds . . . Feder chooses clear and unapologetic language to describe body characteristics, challenging the negative connotations that are often attached to those bodies . . . Depicting societally marginalized human bodies in all their joyful, normal glory, this book is cool. Kirkus, starred review When Feder drew the letter S for stretch marks on Monday, Oct. 24, she wrote in her caption: “I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed by the antisemitism in the news this week so I made this ballerina look kind of related to me and my big Ashkenazi Jewish family.” Kids should get to see people who are happy with themselves, happy with their bodies, and cool with all of the cool bodies around them!

This body positive picture book is a vibrant, joyful, and judgement-free celebration of every body shape and size. Sincere but not sappy, this bittersweet and affecting meditation on the author’s experiences also serves as a heartfelt celebration of her mother’s life.” — Horn Book In Carrie Firestone’s debut middle-grade girl-power friendship story, an eighth grader starts a podcast to protest the unfair dress code enforcement at her middle school and sparks a rebellion. From two Nobel Peace Prize winners, an invitation to look past sadness and loneliness to the joy that surrounds us. My niece is a very curious and empathetic kid. She always has a lot of questions about strangers’ bodies when we go out together. I’m not a parent and am never quite sure how to help her learn without pointing, staring, or being rude (I try my best but I’m never sure the exact best way to do it). I bought this book for her so we could examine and talk all we want about all kinds of different bodies in private. She loved it. It was so helpful for me to be able to explain all kinds of bodies to her without being put on the spot to do it directly in front of the human in real life. And I think she felt relieved to be able to ask all of her questions, express fear and concern, etc without having to worry about hurting someone’s feelings.That bodies are cool is not questioned, and I can imagine myself as a kid saying, “But WHY are bodies cool? Who SAYS?” As an adult, I can imagine that opening up a worthwhile discussion. As Feder puts it, “Why shouldn’t people that don’t fit this one norm get to be depicted and romanticized in a joyful way?” S is for stretch marks — and super Jewish? From skin color, hair types, body hair, eyes, faces, to tummies, legs, scars and more, there are hundreds of wonderful visuals in this body-positive book that shows that your body and their body and everybody's body is unique and beautiful.

Feder writes and draws about mental health, too. It’s all connected, she said. Her 2020 book, Dancing at the Pity Party , subtitled “a dead mom graphic memoir,” starts before her mother’s ovarian cancer diagnosis and continues after her death when Feder was a sophomore in college, reflecting on the grief of a “motherless life” with candor and humor. Her next book, Are You Mad at Me? — cowritten with one of her sisters and set to be published in September — is a picture book that follows an anxious ostrich who always thinks other animals are mad at her. The last bit of the author bio: “Tyler has a round tummy, fuzzy eyebrows, and a mole on her left arm with a little hair growing out of it. Her body is cool, and so is yours!” I cannot think of a friendlier or more delightful primer on women’s history, gender, and body awareness, and — of course — patriarchy-smashing than Unladylike.” — Andi Zeisler, cofounder of Bitch Media Families can talk about how bodies are portrayed in Bodies Are Cool. Which bodies look like your body or the bodies of people you know? Which bodies look different? Why do you think the author wanted to show so many different bodies in the book?A] smart, sassy field guide for feminists. . . . Unapologetic and witty, this work is a great choice for followers of Jennifer Baumgardner and Roxane Gay but will also appeal to young adults and graphic novel fans.” - Library Journal, starred review Authored by podcasters Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin, this field guide is part intersectional feminist history and part practical how-to for modern feminists. As Feder drew her way through the alphabet, her followers saw themselves in various letters and found comfort and joy in them as well.