August 15, 2021
Eager to make friends, Cookie and Broccoli test their cool factor. Seeing a poster at school, Cookie, Broccoli, and Garlic vie to join the "Cool Crowd." Trouble is, there's only one opening to replace Banana, who's split. One by one, the anthropomorphic foods' applications to join the "Cool Crowd" are declined. Garlic smells. Cookie's rendition of the Hokey Pokey isn't up to par. Broccoli barely even speaks before hearing a flat-out "NO!" This prompts Broccoli to make a speech about coolness that turns the "Cool Crowd" against their own leader, Cucumber. Elected as their new leader, Broccoli must decide what is cool and what is not--a task that is such "a big pain in the PATOOTIE" that Broccoli runs away. Can the "Cool Crowd" find their leader without losing their own cool? With nonstop silliness from start to finish, McMahon's second series entry offers yet another affirming lesson for school-age readers. Following a similar formula to Cookie & Broccoli Ready for School! (2020), the book is made up of five sections: three chapters, a quiz, and an epilogue. The dialogue-driven story connects words to speakers with squiggly lines, typically only a sentence or two per panel. Expressive typography adds some colorful flair to predictable block paneling and mostly white, uncluttered backgrounds. The black-outlined cartoon characters are simply but recognizably drawn, especially the tiny blueberry who adds extra comic relief throughout. "Fantabulously" cool. (Graphic fiction. 5-8)
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Starred review from November 19, 2021
K-Gr 3-Broccoli and Cookie want to impress Cucumber, leader of the Cool Crowd. Cookie's hokey pokey dance and Broccoli's math brain teaser are not enough to earn them membership, so Broccoli argues that Cucumber isn't cool, either, resulting in Cucumber stepping down from the Cool Crowd. This morality tale about popularity and influence takes a refreshing turn as Cucumber revels in his newfound freedom and Broccoli stresses out as the new leader of coolness. As it turns out, being too cool to laugh at anything funny just isn't very enjoyable. A line about gluten-free and organic cookies being cool will land differently from reader to reader. Although the setting for many pages is a gray horizon line, the anthropomorphic food crowd and their variety of dialogue and speech balloons lend a lot of color and expression to each page. VERDICT Readers get a powerful, relatable lesson in the kind of coolness that matters: dismantling unfair systems for everyone's benefit.-Thomas Maluck, Richland Lib., SC
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