Bodies Are Cool: A picture book celebration of all kinds of bodies

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Grief can be crushing, but this heartfelt memoir will comfort those who have known it and gently show those who haven’t how to help and what to expect.” — Booklist, starred review

Equal parts celebration, reflection, and mourning, this graphic memoir touches on the unpredictable path of grief . . . Grieving teens will find incredible solace in Feder’s story; all readers will be stirred by this wrenching yet uplifting musing." — School Library Journal, starred reviewEveryone needs this book on their shelf immediately.” — Jessamyn Stanley, author of Every Body Yoga

A bustling celebration of body positivity that lovingly features bodies, skin, and hair of all kinds . . .Feder chooses clear and unapologetic language to describe body characteristics, challenging the negative connotations that are often attached to those bodies . . .Depicting societally marginalized human bodies in all their joyful, normal glory, this book is cool.”— Kirkus, starred reviewFeder writes and draws about mental health, too. It’s all connected, she said. Her 2020 book, Dancing at the Pity Party , subtitled “a dead mom graphic memoir,” starts before her mother’s ovarian cancer diagnosis and continues after her death when Feder was a sophomore in college, reflecting on the grief of a “motherless life” with candor and humor. Her next book, Are You Mad at Me? — cowritten with one of her sisters and set to be published in September — is a picture book that follows an anxious ostrich who always thinks other animals are mad at her. 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. 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, highlighting all the lovely types of bodies out there and how they are really cool. Feder’s inclusive book will instill confidence and pride! With such a joyfully inclusive range of humans, all taking part in community and taking pleasure in each other’s company, it’s hard to imagine a stronger statement of body affirmation and pride.”— Publishers Weekly, starred review

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." 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. There were many different kinds of fat bodies. There were taut fat bellies, and there were bellies with multiple low-hanging rolls.When Feder drew the letter S for stretch marks on Monday, Oct. 24, she wrote in her caption: “I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed by the antisemitism in the news this week so I made this ballerina look kind of related to me and my big Ashkenazi Jewish family.” The pastel-toned illustrations effectively convey Feder's youth and the intensity of her emotions while emphasizing the ultimate message of survival and resilience in the face of life-changing grief. Cathartic and uplifting." — Kirkus With such a joyfully inclusive range of humans, all taking part in community and taking pleasure in each other’s company, it’s hard to imagine a stronger statement of body affirmation and pride.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review My first solo work is a fully-illustrated graphic memoir about my mom’s death during spring break of my sophomore year of college. It’s sad but also silly and weird, just like loss. I adore everything about this picture book. With rhyming text and bright, playful illustrations, this book is sure to be a hit during read-alouds. What I love most though is it’s message, of course. I’ve gone through it twice and tried to analyze every single detail of this work because a book with this type of cover *has* to get it right. Tyler Feder nailed it! Representation is everything and I can’t think of a person who won’t be able to see themself in this book, which is why it should be read widely. Bonus: the obvious sense of community across generations, ethnicities, gender, and tradition.

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!” By the time we met on Zoom in March, she couldn’t remember precisely what it was she’d been reacting to that day in late October. “I think that was when one of the Kanye West antisemitism things was happening,” she said. Perhaps it was the demonstrators who stood behind banners that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” and, “Honk if you know,” on a Los Angeles freeway overpass that weekend, extending their arms forward in Nazi salutes. If you scroll through Feder’s alphabet, one other thing that stands out right away is the sense of joy. The drawings are bright and cheerful. The characters wear serene expressions and little smiles as they leap, stretch, or pose. This cheerful love-your-body picture book for preschoolers is an exuberant read-aloud with bright and friendly illustrations to pore over.

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A] smart, sassy field guide for feminists. . . . Unapologetic and witty, this work is a great choice for followers of Jennifer Baumgardner and Roxane Gay but will also appeal to young adults and graphic novel fans.” - Library Journal, starred review A few years ago, when Feder was preparing to write and illustrate her picture book, Bodies Are Cool , aimed at preschoolers, she put out a call on social media: What’s a body part or physical feature people wished they’d learned to love as kids? Authored by celebrated disability rights advocate, speaker, and writer Emily Ladau, this practical, intersectional guide offers all readers a welcoming place to understand disability as part of the human experience. This book is truly special. Not only do the authors present the problems, but they also offer potential solutions and inspirational tools that are so crucial in driving the conversation forward. Their charming tone combined with the incisively detailed breakdown of all the ways in which the patriarchy affects women make Unladylike a must-read.” — Morgan Jerkins, author of This Will Be My Undoing