The Smart Cookie (The Food Group)

What I Liked:
The cover and illustrations are wonderful to grab the interest of elementary children. Many children will identify with not feeling like they are doing as well as others and therefore are not a “smart cookie”. The word choice and illustrations were very cute in giving double meanings that older readers will enjoy, like when the cookie’s head sculpture broke and was described “as a complete bust!”
This story deals with the big emotions of not feeling adequate and having low self-esteem. That all changes when the Smart Cookie finally finds that writing poetry comes easily and others enjoy it. The teacher’s words of encouragement and the success of the assignment have our character realizing that we are all smart cookies but in different ways.
Final Verdict: I was reading this book with a second grader who chose this book because the cover and title were so appealing. I liked the positive message the book conveyed and the fun way it was presented. I would highly recommend this book for use in the classroom, in counseling, and for parents that want to help a child understand that we can all be smart cookies even if we make mistakes or aren’t as fast to answer as their peers. In societies and our own internal pressure to compare ourselves to others, it can be disheartening and negatively affect your self-esteem when you don’t think you are doing as well as others. This book is a gentle reminder that we are all ok and you just need to find what you are good at and that can take a while sometimes.