Los cuerpos son geniales

by Tyler Feder, Aurora Humarán (Translation)

This award-winning, exuberant picture book demonstrating self-love and celebrating body diversity is now available in Spanish


Mi cuerpo, tu cuerpo
en nada son iguales,
pero hay algo muy cierto:
LOS CUERPOS SON GENIALES.

Este energizante libro para leer en voz alta--con escenas alegres y simp�ticas que invitan a la lectura--es un himno inclusivo y optimista, una mirada positiva sobre los cuerpos, para compartir con les peque�es de la familia.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Disability, LGBT, Nonfiction, Bodies, Queer

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2021

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A while back I directly begged Todd Parr via tweet to write a picture book on bodies. I don’t know if he ever plans to, but until then, or perhaps even better than, we’ve got Bodies Are Cool. Though the skin-tone palette is “realistic”, this is a book I’d put on the shelf with Sex is a Funny Word and What Makes a Baby.

Things I especially appreciated:

1. There were many different kinds of fat bodies. There were taut fat bellies, and there were bellies with multiple low-hanging rolls.

2. There were multiple representations of people with vitiligo and port-wine birthmarks, on different pages throughout the book, not just on the “skin” page, not just token representations.

3. It covers facial, arm, etc hair on folx of any gender.

4. “Growing bodies, aging bodies, features-rearranging bodies, magic ever-changing bodies. Bodies are cool!”

5. Bodies with dwarfism were represented—as far as I could tell, only one. But represented.

6. 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!”

The one spread that made me feel a little iffy was about fingers—while it included one person with several fingers missing and another with prosthetic fingers, there was no “no fingers”/"no hands" representation. It surprised me because every other page had been so thorough.

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.

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.

Reviewed from a digital ARC from #edelweiss

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover truly wowed me at the Library where I work, so much so that I checked it out immediately to take home. I love the idea of introducing children to the idea that all bodies are diverse and amazing from a young age. The beautiful colorful illustrations are full of people of every kind of shape, size, ability and hue imaginable engaging in all kinds of activities together. It's a joyful inclusive book that celebrates the boundless diversity of people.

My favorite lines:

"Faint scars, bold scars, stripes-from-getting-bigger scars, marks-that-tell-a-story scars. Bodies are cool!"

[Tyler Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful children's picture book filled with body positivity for all bodies! They show several different disabilities (colostomies, canes, and more), skin colors, races, sizes, ages, trans guy chest scars, kinds of hair, hairy and not hairy, scars, birth marks and more. So much body positivity in this beautiful book!

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not like the book at all. I get the point they are trying to make that people come in all sizes, but I could but help having a creepy feeling the whole way through. Lots of illustrations of people in skimpy underwear and bathing suits. Not something I will be letting any of my kids read. I’d rather they read something that promotes being healthy. I like the idea that people look different and that’s a good thing, but this book didn’t accomplish that.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This body, that body, his and her and their body. However YOU define your body! Bodies are cool!”

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 that highlights all the lovely types of bodies out there and how they are really cool. Feder’s book is inclusive and will instill in readers confidence and pride!

This book literally came out only yesterday (as of me writing this review) and I bought it immediately. This was one of the books included in my list of most anticipated 2021 releases and it was certainly worth the wait. I mean, the cover alone promises a celebration of bodies and lovely artwork. Speaking of the artwork, each page turn opens to a new two-page spread full of diversity, from hair types, skin tones, height, body shapes and so much more⸺the details are impeccable and so so beautiful that I cried. I don’t think I’ve ever seen underarm hair or stretch mark or even the slightest “imperfection” on a person in a picture book and so these images go above and beyond to not only show our reality in a way that simply shows acceptance that it naturally encourages it. I think the soft and warm colors that Feder uses emanates such a cozy feeling throughout the book. By having a plethora of different types of people all in one place, whether it be at a movie theater, party, a pool or literally anywhere this book shows how wonderful it can be if we all enjoyed one another just as we are because damn it Bodies ARE cool! Feder’s illustrations not only normalizes the human body in all its glory but they also normalizes to the child reader fatness, queer and interracial couples/families. In the age of body positivity, this is a perfect addition to all our shelves. While this is a quick reader, if you’re like me you will stop at every page and devour the art from top to bottom and really ruminate how valuable this book truly is. For cover artists out there conveying blemish free, thin, white people on all our books, take note!

I also wanted to share that upon getting the book my sister could not wait to read the book herself and so she read it on the ride home, with her phone flashlight, in the backseat of the car and gave it a resounding 10 out of 10 stars! What stood out to me is that my sister is not a reader or someone who particularly enjoys picture books but she really spent her time appreciating the art and the representation and the joy that this book can give even a novice reader. For that, I highly recommend this book to everyone, please buy it for yourself and the younger ones in your life.

[Mid-Continent Public Library]

Bodies are cool! We are all unique and different! Check out all of the different types of people out there in this very colorful community that is DEFINITELY a lot like your own.
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.
Love your body!

Fantastic honest illustrations and easy-text-writing by Tyler Feder give us a great body positive book for everyone to find themselves in and appreciate. I honestly don't think that I've ever seen a picture book that had top-surgery, tattoos, vitiligo, stretch marks, back hair, freckles, moles, prosthetic limbs, paraplegics, dwarfism, visually impaired, surgical scars, among many others in one book, but I really truly believe that EVERY parent, teacher and library needs to have this book and ingest it. Look up the various types of bodies if you're unsure, ask questions, discover and appreciate all of our bodies. *Review by Andrew from Red Bridge*

[Abby Johnson]

This is a MUST for anyone trying to raise body-positive kids. There's a ton of diversity in the illustrations, including racial, gender, and ability diversity. It normalizes body hair and all kinds of different body shapes and sizes. Add this to any lesson plan on the human body or about me.

[Jemily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bodies are def cool, but this book is a hard pass.
Illustrations are not age appropriate. Think man in a pink leotard with a bulging crotch and pubic hair cloud. Think same sex couples. Think half dressed people and naked babies with a penis. Think men with mastectomy scars (and for a book with beautiful words about body acceptance, why is the author promoting body dissatisfaction with major gender changing surgery?).
Sydney was quite disturbed and wasn’t ready for what she saw.
I trusted that because this was a monarch book it would be appropriate for an elementary student. Instead, we were assaulted with a political agenda through the illustrations. I’m glad we read this at home where we could discuss the disconnect and it wasn’t the teacher reading it.
Not cool.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

And this book is THE COOLEST! What a wonderful celebration of bodies in ALL their varieties shown in community together, being just as they are! I've never read a more body-positive book. There are even stretch marks! Hooray for bodies!

[Lannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your everyday picture book celebrating diversity. This book normalizes AND celebrates the beauty of all bodies without needing to explain or justify any bodies (as other children’s books on diversity have been prone to do); the bodies in this book just ARE, and that’s beautiful.

The book goes beyond physical descriptors we are born with, such as our skin tone; it includes the *choices* we make regarding our appearance as well, showing that we can not only love the bodies we are given, but we can also proudly claim them. Beautiful message, and a great conversation starter with kids.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. The world can always use more body positivity, but this book really went above and beyond. This book reminds us that all bodies are cool, despite size, shape, color, texture, hair, etc. The message is great, but the illustrations are even better. There are so many different people illustrated in this book -- people of different ages, races, ethnicities, sizes, etc. Hopefully every child reading this book can find someone that looks like them. And what's better than that?! Seeing yourself in a story with a positive message is so great, especially in areas where people may need more assurance that they aren't as different from others as they think. Highly recommend!

[Steven Feder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just completed reading my daughter Tyler’s book, “Bodies are Cool”. Its message is a “clarion call” to all of us (both young and old) to celebrate our differences and recognize that having a sense of community is the cornerstone to a fulfilling life. Tyler, thank you for again sensitizing me to what is truly important in life. I love you, Dad.

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you @prhaudio
narrated and written by Tyler Feder
4 min

Super cute and love the cool background music. This is so important for kids to understand the different body shapes, color and sizes. Amazing fun read!!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

File under "another picture book I wish had existed when I was a kid"

[Sim ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a powerful, inclusive and empowering book 😭

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A celebration of body positivity that's fun to quickly read aloud and slowly pore over all the diversity visible in the pictures.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein Wimmelbuch, das mit kurzen, liebevollen Reimen die Vielfalt von Körpern zelebriert – natürlich, ohne Berührungsängste und voller Akzeptanz. Verschiedene Hautfarben, Körperformen und Behaarung werden selbstverständlich gezeigt. Eine wunderbare Art, Kindern Körperpositivität und Diversität zu vermitteln.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[Maura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bodies are Cool is the most amazing body-positive book for children I've ever read. Written and illustrated by Tyler Feder (creator of the incredible graphic memoir Dancing at the Pity Party), the book includes positive, inclusive illustrations of all kinds of human bodies.

Big bodies, small bodies,
dancing, playing, happy bodies!
Look at all these different bodies!
Bodies are cool!

Each two page spread focuses the text on a specific kind of variety of bodies: shape, head hair, skin color, body hair, eye color and shape, facial features, skin coloration differences (freckles, moles, port wine stains, etc), fingers, tummies, legs, scars, height, body changes/aging.

What I appreciate so much is that while the text may focus on these specific categories of difference, the illustrations on each page incorporate all kinds of different bodies -- differently abled bodies, differently clothed bodies, different head adornments, etc. Hairy legs are shown on many pages, not just the pages about body hair. All different kids of fat bodies (pear shape, apple shape, etc.) are on all the pages, not just the body shape pages. People are shown with continuous glucose monitors, glasses, prosthetic limbs, pregnancy, unibrow, man buns, beards, baldness, beauty. All beauty.

It looks more like the real world than any other children's picture book I've ever seen. (Well, perhaps a more idealized real world, where women are freer about choosing not to pluck eyebrows, shave legs, or cover midriffs that are rounded or scarred. Where a ballet class is as full of fat women as skinny women. Where there is no self-segregation on subway cars.)

Most media for children depicts a humanity that is far whiter, far more limited in body sizes, far more monochromatic, far more abled, and far less diverse in appearance than the real world. Children are presented a very narrow view of what is considered a "normal" appearance, far more narrow than the real world, and an even more narrow definition of "beautiful". This problem is exacerbated by social media, with filters and cropping literally erasing and chopping off parts of images that are out of the norm, where we angle our selfies to get rid of double chins or choose to be the photo taker rather than in the photo if our bodies stray too far from the norm. Worse, bodies that are seen as "uncool" by larger society are less and less welcome or even able to take up space in the world of children - fat people who choose not to fly rather than risk being booted off airplanes, differently abled bodies who cannot access common spaces, people who don't fit an arbitrary standard of grooming (eyebrow plucking, armpit shaving, mole removal, makeup over scars, etc.) don't get hired for jobs, regardless of their ability to do the work.

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.

Bonus review from my 8 year old son: "I really liked it...I liked looking for what was different about each person. I liked how colorful it was and how comfortable everyone was with being themselves and being around people who were different. It was a happy book, and kids should get to see people who are happy with themselves."

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!

Recommended for school and classroom libraries, pediatrician and dentist offices, and all of the little kids you know!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the repetitive assertion that "Bodies are cool!" (unpaged), and digital illustrations that demonstrate exactly that, this picture book is essential for an elementary classroom and a home where parents and caregivers are trying to inculcate acceptance in their offspring. Seeing bodies of all sorts of sizes and shapes with freckles, scars, and imperfections is a tonic for today's often-airbrushed images of perfection posted on social media and in magazines. There are tall, short, skinny, fat, and in-between sizes celebrated here. A variety of skin colors, types of hair (including hairy legs, lip hair, and underarm hair), different eye colors and eye shapes, and even noses and fingers are on display. There are even two pages devoted to different types of tummies and showing off some stretch marks, and oh, my, how delightfully inclusive this book is. Readers will notice individuals with prosthetic limbs, in wheelchairs, wearing pouches for health reasons or breathing with aid from an oxygen tank scattered among the various scenes. All clearly have a place in this world and the community depicted in the book's images. The entire book is empowering in every respect, and its pages and text will make many individuals who often feel as though they are ignored or marginalized to be seen and feel represented. There is even a double-page spread that celebrates how bodies change as they age. Readers won't want to fly through this book; instead, it's best read energetically but with ample time devoted to examining the illustrations and all those wonderfully unique but extraordinarily cool bodies on display here. Just looking at the cover made me smile and feel excited about its contents.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bodies are cool! We are all unique and different! Check out all of the different types of people out there in this very colorful community that is DEFINITELY a lot like your own.
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.
Love your body!

Fantastic honest illustrations and easy-text-writing by Tyler Feder give us a great body positive book for everyone to find themselves in and appreciate. I honestly don't think that I've ever seen a picture book that had top-surgery, tattoos, vitiligo, stretch marks, back hair, freckles, moles, prosthetic limbs, paraplegics, dwarfism, visually impaired, surgical scars, among many others in one book, but I really truly believe that EVERY parent, teacher and library needs to have this book and ingest it. Look up the various types of bodies if you're unsure, ask questions, discover and appreciate all of our bodies.

[Alli Cadle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan! I liked Tyler Feder's style in Dancing at the Pity Party and I like it here too. I've noticed some other books that are supposedly going for inclusivity can get all "yeah you know normal people are okay and EVEN THIS TOTAL WEIRDO PERSON is okay. EVEN THEM!!" and I did not get that vibe from Bodies Are Cool and that is cool.

I had moments while reading where a characteristic I share was mentioned and I sort of blinked, realizing that I had maybe never? heard this thing being referred to as anything other than negative if it was spoken of at all. So that was --well, cool. There are things you as the reader can personally relate to, and things you probably can't, and they're all cool. It would be interesting to hear the perspective of the target audience.

[Effie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, I love this book! I love everything about it. I especially love the variety of human and the detail in the wonderful illustrations. Just some of the things I love: hairy armpits, legs, and crotch, vitiligo, wheelchairs, artificial limbs, big bellies, stretch marks, hairy moles, mustaches on women and girls, men in leotards, birthmarks, kids with Down Syndrome, wrinkly skin, visible veins, albinism, freckles, and a beautiful palette of various skin tones. It's such a celebration and there's a lot going on in each picture for little ones to discover new things and new characters each time they read it. On a scale of 1-10 I give this book 10,000 stars.

[Rachel Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! As a mom-to-be and breast cancer survivor, I really appreciated there was a page dedicated to scars, too. Will be buying this for our home.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A celebration of bodies for kids, probably the best one I've seen so far! Such diverse representation!

[➸ Gwen de Sade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was beautiful, a must-read for every child, but also an absolute recommendation for adults!

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could rate this book higher than 5 stars.
Every “body” should read this. It would make a great mantra, prayer, daily affirmation or declaration. The illustrations join hands with the words to make a powerful impact.

[RG]

Body positivity for the win! There are so many different ways to appreciate your body and normalize people of all abilities!

[Anna Baboura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα βιβλίο ενάντια στο body shaming.
Υπάρχει ελπίδα τελικά 🤍💜❤️

[₊˚ପ⊹ adaia ✧ ˖ -͙˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ALL👏BODIES👏ARE👏COOL👏

[Opetoritse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feder makes a simple yet bold statement embracing physical diversity in more or less every conceivable way. The illustrations naturally do most of the talking, featuring a number of bodies types that I've never seen in a book before, children's or otherwise. This inclusivity isn't limited to biological features, either, but is also shown through the wide variety of clothing styles, gender presentations, and sexualities. Many children's books with this theme tend to present their subjects through normalcy-colored glasses, using less detail in the illustrations to make the differences look more in line with societal beauty standards. Feder wholeheartedly rejects this approach, instead choosing to challenge what we consider beautiful, ugly, and taboo. Some readers may be shocked and even offended by a few of the body parts on display here, but those who are in agreement with Feder's message will appreciate her visual honesty. The one improvement that I could see being made would be the inclusion of an appendix with information and/or a list of resources on some of the lesser-known physical characteristics.