The Callahan Cousins #3: Keeping Cool (No. 3) [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Doyle Carey (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Callahan Cousins

Look out, Gull Island! Neeve,Phoebe, Kate and Hillary - the 12-year-old Callahancousins - are staying at their grandmother Gee's ramblingseaside estate. A whole summer without any parents!As the idyllic summer continues the girls discover thatbeing joined at the hip isn't all it's cracked up to be.When the usually shy Kate launches a quest to become 'thecool' girl in town, her over-the-top antics threaten topull the cousins aparthellip;..

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elizabeth Doyle Carey is a former children's book editor. She lives in New York City with her husband and three young children, and she has twenty-five first cousins of her own.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (May 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316736937
• ISBN-13: 978-0316736930
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #519,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I love this series!, May 5, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Callahan Cousins #3: Keeping Cool (No. 3) (Hardcover)

The Callahan Cousins: Keeping Cool is part of a series, each of which features one of four strong, talented and nice female cousins.

The cousins: Neeve, Kate, Hillary and Phoebe, are still at their kind and wise grandmother Gee's estate on Gull Island. They all live together in the Dorm (guesthouse) which they've remodeled for their summer stay.

The Callahan Cousins: Keeping Cool is told from Kate's perspective. Kate enjoys cooking, decorating and knitting. The cousins consider her interests to be those that only 'old ladies' enjoy and have begun to tease her daily.

Shy Kate decides to become "cool." Her changes challenge the
cousins' relationship and cause Kate to question if she is being true to herself.

Raising funds and obtaining donations for the island medical clinic
places Kate in unfamiliar and terrifying territory and brings her to a
greater understanding of herself and the mean-spirited Sloan (who
makes another appearance in this book).

The Callahan Cousins: Keeping Cool is another delightful romp with the cousins. They are friends, but they are family first and trusting and caring for each other is the most important thing to them.

Armchair Interviews says: We love the strong moral compass of these
positive books, especially in an era where young adult books lean
toward the dark, gritty and dangerous. This is a breath of fresh air
and a series anyone would want and encourage their children to read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A page-turner any young girl can relate to, May 31, 2006

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Callahan Cousins #3: Keeping Cool (No. 3) (Hardcover)

The Callahan cousins' summer with Grandmother Gee continues in this third book of the series, which is Kate's story. It opens with Kate, an ardent cook, recording notes on housekeeper Sheila's excellent recipes. While she writes, Kate reflects that she is lacking in comparison to her accomplished cousins: exotic Neeve, brave and athletic Hillary, and gorgeous, intelligent Phoebe.

Girly-girl Kate realizes she's a daydreaming homebody with tons of friends. But she also feels stressed by the events of the summer and by the way others perceive her. The cousins tease her about her timid and persnickety mannerisms --- and the worst part of the teasing is that she believes them.

Gee asks the girls to help her gather donations for a raffle and auction to benefit the local medical clinic. The other cousins love the idea, but Kate is terrified at the thought of approaching adults to beg for things. Ugh. She fakes enthusiasm, though, to please Gee. Kate's dread escalates when mean girl Sloan threatens the cousins with "problems" if they ask for donations in places where Sloan has connections. Since Sloan is local, Kate knows she has connections everywhere. Oh, dear.

The cousins tease Kate so much about fearing Sloan that Kate determines she will become an entirely new person. She'll show her cousins! She'll transform herself into a model of not only courage and athleticism, but the epitome of coolness. She'll actually wear her bikini (that she's been too embarrassed to be seen in) and acquire hobbies that are not old lady-like, such as her beloved knitting. When she requests help from her cousins on her transformation, they agree to assist her.

Despite Kate's plans to be a brave new person, she panics when she realizes the cousins must split up to approach businesses and individuals for donations. There is no way she can do it all by herself. Yet she must --- or admit she will never change.

Kate's quest for donations turns out to be even more challenging than she feared. She has difficulty even speaking to the shopkeepers; sometimes she can't quite force out her request. Sloan appears, easily and smoothly retrieving prizes while cowing Kate. Kate yearns to be as cool as Sloan. Is it possible to learn good traits from the surly local? As Kate advances step by baby step toward her goal, is she heading down the wrong path?

Kate's story is filled with genuine conflict any reader can identify with, making KEEPING COOL a page-turner. The coziness, emphasis on family, and lovely descriptions continue to form an appealing backdrop to the plot. I particularly appreciate the emphasis on Kate becoming "healthier" rather than "more in shape." One quibble: an adult character spells out "the lesson learned" in rather long-winded detail, which is certainly unnecessary given the intelligence of the readers (and of Kate herself). But that's just one tiny blip in a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining story, which is excellent escape fiction.

This book, like the previous two, features a group of supportive cousins the same age, a separate fabulous Dorm for the girls to live in, a gorgeous island setting, and a grandmother with a benign hands-off policy, which all add up to a dream come true for any tween girl. Add the character of Kate --- growing and changing in a most satisfying manner --- plus a theme of self-acceptance, and you have yet another Callahan Cousins winner.

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon ([e-mail])

5.0 out of 5 stars mj, May 10, 2009

By 

bmj (grayslake, il) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Callahan Cousins #3: Keeping Cool (No. 3) (Hardcover)

My daughter(8) 1st heard this as an audiobook on our roadtrip. We all loved the 'cousins'. I bought her all four books for a gift and she loves them all. Highly reccommended.