Book Tour
Author Interview and Giveaway
Join Us for This Tour: November 22nd to December 10th
Book Title: Cool Kids by Arlene Freeman
Category: Children’s Fiction (Ages 3-7), 38 pages
Genre: Chldren’s Picture Book
Publisher: Mascot Publishing
Release date: October 2021
Content Rating: G. Suitable for all ages.
Like most kids, Michael and his friends are so excited for their first day at a new school. They have a lot of questions about what to expect, but most of all, they wonder if they’ll get to join the football team. That would be the perfect way to start the year! However, Michael soon finds out that it’s not as easy as he thinks. The team is filled with bullies, and to join, he has to become one of them. In order to be cool enough to get a spot
on the football team, Michael has to start changing his behavior—for the worse! Suddenly, terrible things start happening to him. Finally, he begins to wonder: Was it all worth it?
Whether at home or in a classroom setting, a book that discourages being a bully can be a great tool in teaching children. In this case, Michael decides that he’s willing to become a bully if that’s what it takes to impress the bullies on the football team. But will it be worth sacrificing his good friends just to join the team?
The story is accompanied by illustrator Amelina Jones’ realistic figures. These eye-catching pictures beautifully help bring the story to life.
My Concerns
While I liked the theme of this story, I did have a few concerns.
- It felt too wordy and unnecessarily repetitive
- The mirror/reflection part of the story made me wonder how children would respond since many take things so literally
- Too didactic
- Fairytale ending
Final Thoughts
I would say that the positives outweigh most of my concerns, especially if the reader takes the time to discuss the story. Bullying is a serious concern and this book certainly can be a tool to use with older elementary school children. But I wouldn’t recommend it for preschool or younger.
I received a copy of Cool Kids but was not required to write a positive review. This review is just my opinion.
Rating: 3 Stars
Meet the Author and Interview
Interview
- What did you stop doing in order to write this book?
Well, this was a special time in all our lives because of COVID. Many things were stopped for all of us. All activities of togetherness were curtailed. During that time, I did finish my book and revisited my attempts at cooking. However, the one thing that I completely stopped was playing the piano. I just started to learn how to play and I stopped in order to finish my book. I am ready to dust it off and start again, as I loved it.
- What inspired you to write this book?
There was very little television when I was a child, and storytelling was something kids all loved. My dad was great at this and created a character that all the kids loved to hear about. I never forgot his name and always wanted to continue my dad’s legacy and write about “Ruffy Butchbang.”
- Are you computer savvy?
Not really. I feel comfortable writing using paper and pencil. I did eventually go to the computer when I was finished writing and used all the tools that were available to me. It took some time to stop being afraid of pushing a button and losing everything. I eventually learned, sometimes the hard way. Computers are great once you know how to use them. I still have a lot to learn.
- When do you get your best ideas?
Usually when I can’t sleep or wake up in the middle of the night, I get my best ideas. I rehash my story clearly because it is a quiet time. Many times, the ideas are well thought out and I use them if I remember them. Of course, I get so worked up that I never go back to sleep!
- What writing did you do for fun?
I never realized how much writing I did in my life. Either it was for fun or for a worthy cause, but it was definitely not professional. I wrote song parodies for parties — funny stories like “Hair Today and Gone
Tomorrow,” and “Toe Be or Not Toe Be,” a story about a big toe. I still have a story I would like to write and that is about my mother. One part of the story would cover the time she was married to my dad until he passed away, and the rest would be about her five other marriages. She was something else! I will get to that someday.
- What are the future of the characters?
I hope to write a sequel involving bullying and young girls, using the characters in my book. However, I need to do a little more research as to how and why this comes about. It was easy to write about the boys, as I only have boys. Girls are different in the way they bully. I need to learn first. I will write another sequel using the boys and the bully Ruffy Butchbang.
Arlene, thank you so much for giving your readers a glimpse into your life. It always means so much to me and I’m sure others feel the same way. ~ Debbie
Nov 22 – Cover Lover Book Review – book review / giveaway
Nov 22 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book review / author interview / giveaway
Nov 23 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 23 – Splashes of Joy – book review / guest post / giveaway
Nov 23 – A Mama’s Corner of the World – book review / giveaway
Nov 23 – Bound 4 Escape – book review / giveaway
Nov 24 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book review / giveaway
Nov 26 – Older & Smarter? – book review / giveaway
Nov 29 –Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Nov 30 – Pick a Good Book – book review / author interview / giveaway
Dec 1 – icefairy’s Treasure Chest – book review / giveaway
Dec 2 – She Just Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Dec 2 – Kam’s Place – book review
Dec 3 – Sefina Hawke’s Books – book spotlight
Dec 6 – I’m Into Books – book review / giveaway
Dec 6 – Reading is My Passion – book review / giveaway
Dec 6 – Writer with Wanderlust – book review / guest post / giveaway
Dec 7 – Lisa’s Reading – book review / giveaway
Dec 8 – @twilight_reader – book review
Dec 9 – The Phantom Paragrapher – book review
Dec 10 – The Page Ladies – book review
Enter the Giveaway:
If you purchase through the links in this post, I may earn a small commission. This helps support Pick a Good Book and allows us to continue bringing you great content.
Gourmesso’s goal is to offer you excellent quality coffee, for Nespresso and Keurig®* machines, and to make our specialties your new favorites. Our European roots have instilled that tradition of espresso perfection, and we want to share that with those who enjoy the single-serve espresso culture, as well as with anyone simply looking for a great cup of coffee.
Glorybrew Keurig Compatible – 100% Compostable – Sir Hazelnut (12ct) – $8.99
from: Gourmesso
 Black Friday Keurig Bundle – 72 Compostable Pods + Cleaning Kit – Save 20% – $51.50 Are you an avid coffee-lover looking for the best way to maintain your Keurig machine? Look no further, this bundle features 3 of our world class compostable Glorybrew coffee capsules for Keurig. It also features the Gourmesso Cleaning and Descaling kit is the best 2 in 1 solution to keep the brew chamber, nozzle and exit spout of your machine free of existing residue and remove the mineral and limescale that builds up in your machine over time. Your Keurig machine will feel like new after using our easy to use cleaning kit! Bundle Contents 1 bottle of descaling liquid (4oz) 1 Cleaning Capsule for Keurig K-Cup Brewers 2 packs of The Duke – Medium Roast – 24 pods 2 packs of The Knight – Dark Roast – 24 pods 2 packs of The Noble – Extra Dark Roast – 24 pods Descaling Instructions Completely empty the descaling bottle into the water reservoir Add enough water to fill the remainder of the reservoir Brew your machine until the water reservoir is empty Refill the reservoir with water Brew your machine until the water reservoir is empty Repeat steps 4 and 5 three times Cleaning Instructions Load the cleaning capsule into your Keurig K-Cup machine Brew the largest cup size twice Remove the cleaning capsule from your machine Brew the machine with no capsule twice Compatibility For use only on Keurig K-Cup machines, will NOT work in any Nespresso machines & will not clean the Milk-Frother portion of any machine |
