Cooper and Me Book Review & Giveaway

Cooper and Me was illustrated by 11-year-old Alexa Peters and co-written with her mother, Monique Peters.  The idea was inspired by Alexa’s own experiences on her first day of school.  A talented young artist and writer, Alexa wanted to give back to others in a meaningful way through her art.  Starting at a very young age, Alexa created illustrated stories about her daily experiences, and from the pages of her sketchbooks came the idea for her first book, Cooper and Me. 

Through rhythmic verses, Cooper and Me tells the story of a young girl who is nervous as her first day of school approaches.  She is frightened about leaving home and doesn’t want to go without her best friend, her dog Cooper. Fortunately her mother finds the perfect solution to help the little girl overcome her fears – a small replica of her beloved pet she can take to school with her.  In Cooper and Me, the story of a child’s worries about starting school has evolved into a timeless tale about overcoming separation anxiety and trying new things – basic emotions all people experience throughout their lives – but this time, written by a child, for children.

The story behind Cooper and Me also offers an inspiring example of families working together to help others.  In addition to helping young children gain emotional resilience and confidence through their books, Alexa and mom Monique wanted to go beyond that to help less fortunate kids.  Their search for an organization to which they could donate a portion of the proceeds from the Cooper and Me book led to a charitable alliance with the Happy Hearts Fund, founded and run by Petra Nemcova, the supermodel who was directly affected by the tsunami in Thailand. Happy Hearts improves children’s lives through education and sustainable programs in areas devastated by natural disasters.

My two kids love books!  And we are always willing to try a new title.    I was initially worried that my daughter (21 months) would not enjoy books, but just recently she has started to show a genuine interest in reading.  I like that this book talks about separation anxiety when a child has to go to school for the first time.  My almost 5 year old is in his second year of preschool and does not suffer from this affliction, however my daughter does experience separation anxiety.  She is fine along as long as she has one of her parents with her,  but a babysitter is something different.  This book will hopefully be very helpful for my daughter once she starts school.

When I was reading this book to the kids they really liked the illustrations and we had to read it multiple times, as we do any book my son likes.  We then had a discussion about the message of the book and he thought it was silly that she was worried about going to school as “school is fun.”  My son likes going to school as he gets to play with kids and sing songs, etc.  At the back of this book there are also discussion notes and questions to ask your children about the message.  We talked about a few of these and how he feels about going to school and why he thinks she feels the way she does.

There is also a CD with a song that relates to the book.  My son thought it had a catchy tune and he definitely like the music.

Another plus with this book and the series is that it has a nice website.  On the Cooper & Me website (www.cooperandme.com) there are color and activity pages you can print off for the kids to do.  There are also pages for parents and educators with discussion notes and how to fit the books into educational programs.

This book is a real eye opener and discussion starter.  My kids enjoyed it first and foremost because it has a dog in it.  They love dogs!  I like it because it has a message that can sometimes be hard to work through with kids.  I will be definitely using this book with my daughter when it is time for her to go to school or do things without mom and dad.  I have a feeling she won’t be as easy to drop off as her brother is and hopefully this book can help!

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One lucky Mama Report reader will receive their own copy of Cooper and Me!