What a Truly Cool World

by Julius Lester

Book Overview

In this wonderfully imagined story, God has many helpers. Those who assist in the creation of everything from music to butterflies include his wife, Irene God; his secretary, Bruce; and his beloved... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0590864688
• ISBN13: 9780590864688
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.4" x 12.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

God Is More Than We Can Imagine

A wonderful book for your kids, to read aloud at children's time on Sunday morning, or just to chuckle at by yourself. Julius Lester imagines God in his own way in the Jewish tradition of midrash, and humor and insight are the result. My favorite character is Shaniqua, the Angel in Charge of Everybody's Business. Children will see that their picture of God is not the only picture that exists, and also learn to revel in the joy and beauty of Creation. A must have for any thinking Christian family.

Truly fabulous!

This book is absolutely wonderful and hilarious! It makes God someone we can relate to while also showing his (or her... I'm still not convinced!) amazing power. The author places his characters in a modern setting and uses humor to convey important messages to both children and adults. Bruce and Shaniqua are perfect "sidekicks"! Anyone witha sense of humor and an appreciation for diversity will love this book! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a great story and beautiful, colorful illustrations! I know I will treasure my autographed copy for years to come!

Fabulous for kids and adults

In the first 24 hours we had this book, my five year old son asked to read it seven times! He loved the richness of the story and the funny details in the illustrations, and I completely agreed with him. It's a creative, faithful twist on a story familiar to many. I am an elementary school chaplain and will definitely make use of this book.

Not everything is as it seems...

I loved this book! I highly recommend this book because... It focuses on diversity. It brings to light a new version of the creation myth. Not only is it easy to read, but also "God" is not alone. He has help. Everyone is part of something. One can easily tire of the typical creation myths. Instead, this book allows us to consider other possibilities. It also causes us to question the creation myth and to acknowledge that there are different points of view. I would love to read this to a class along with other creation myth books. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll get the opportunity since it deals with religion. True, this book is not for everyone, but it is definitely a must read! It was also nice to see that God was portrayed as African-American. Even though I myself am not African-American, it is nice to see some diversity in children's books=) Also, the artwork was very colorful and well done! I look foreward to more books such as this one.

Awesome! easy for children to understand

Being an African American parent it is hard to find books that my child can relate to. Beautiful colors and great illustrations are used to show the creation of a "cool world."