This book – written by our author Sean Taylor – is just out in the UK. The perfect excuse for new sunglasses (RIP all previous pairs, mashed by Viola), double denim and a video.

HOW TO BE COOLER THAN COOL? Mainie and Viola are SO COOL – I mean: new sunglasses, cool book, cool crossed arms, poker faces, all sustained effortlessly for 30 seconds… (Ok, the bar is actually quite low.)

 Unlike (SEGUE!) the bar for Sean Taylor and Jean Jullien following HOOT OWL and I WANT TO BE IN A SCARY STORY – two of the funniest picture books of the last few years.

If there’s one theme that links Hoot Owl with Little Monster and with Pig, Cat and Cockatoo, it’s hubris: all of these guys overreach, whether by thinking themselves the deadliest, the scariest, or here, the coolest. Good thing Cool Chick is on hand to tell them to loosen up a little, because they’re trying WAY too hard. 

Unlike (SEGUE!) Mainie and Viola, who really aren’t giving this their full commitment. Which means….maybe they ARE kinda cool, after all…

How to Be Cooler than Cool has just come out in the UK – it’s out in North America in the autumn (2021), but wherever you are you can buy it here from Blackwell’s with international delivery included (affiliate link).

We represent Sean Taylor, and the song in our video was written by Sean’s friend Jim Scadding – lyrics by Sean.

James Catchpole 

This was first posted on Instagram on the 6th of May. We made the video as a reel for Instagram, so not sure how well it’ll translate – the whole portrait video to landscape is rather a gamble.

If you’d like to see all the books we represent – including Sean and Jean’s previous collaborations below – you can find them at our Bookshop UK or US.

[Video description: Viola and Mainie are looking cool. Well, Mainie is. Viola is doing her 2yo best. Please note her COOL ARMS. They’re both wearing new sunglasses from Kidly and double denim. Mainie’s holding How to Be Cooler than Cool – a picture book by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien. It’s orange, and a pig, cat, cockatoo and chick stand unsmiling with their arms folded, wearing sunglasses – Reservoir Dogs style. Someone off camera throws things at the girls – perhaps in an attempt to make them laugh 😉 At the end, an enormous inflatable globe. Honestly: parents.]