Ryers Readers - The Cool Bean

Episode Date: May 27, 2022

Being cool is not about the cloths you wear, or your hair. This Bean learns that the only true way to be cool, is to be kind!

Let's do this. Thank you so much for tuning into today's story. Don't forget to tell your grown-up to go check out the Ryer's Reader's Instagram for more fun content. Before we get into the story, do you want to know a fun fact? Did you know that beans can be used in a bunch of different ways? Beans can be made into burgers, cakes, pies, drinks, fudge, jewelry, Three muffins, toys, musical instruments, and even furniture? Have you ever sat in a bean bag chair? Pretty cool, huh? Okay, story time. Today, we are going to read The Cool Bean by Jory John and Pete Oswald. Watch out!

Here come the cool beans. The cool beans. Oh yeah. Check out how they move. Look at the way they swagger. Notice their sunglasses. Yow! The cool beans are known all over school, from house to house, across town, beyond county lines. In the olden days, last year, we were all in one big pot of beans. We were a mixed bag, but somehow it worked. Yep, those were the good old days. and then we stop seeing each other as much.

That's just how it is sometimes. You spend less time together, even though you're not totally sure why. I watched as the beans I knew so well. The beans from my own pod became the cool beans. They were so cool. One of them could play the guitar, cool.

One of them could draw the best superheroes. Cool. One of them could jump higher than any being I had ever known. Cool. So cool. Me? Well, I mostly stayed the same. Sure, I made some small changes.

I wore sunglasses. I slicked my hair back. I strutted around. I swaggered. I was still picked last for everything. My clothes never seemed to fit. I snorted when I laughed. I walked into stuff. I was an uncool bean for sure. I started thinking to myself as just a common bean with no real special skills. I couldn't compete, so I didn't even try. I'd never be a cool. bean. It seemed like there were two types of beans in the world. There were the cool beans and the beans like me. The days all blended together. I lived my life and things were just okay. I took tests and I ate lunches and I mostly just kept myself. The cool beans continued being cool. I mean sure I missed them a bit but it's not like I was going to say anything. I felt like that coolness just got in the way of our friendship, and that's how it went.

Until one day, I was in the cafeteria. I dropped my lunch on my loafers, but then something sort of miraculous happened. Out of nowhere, one of the cool beans helped me clean it up. He didn't even say anything, he just gave me a nod and that was it. Later, I was out on the playground. I tripped and scraped my knee and maybe I cried a little bit and everyone saw it. Another one of the cool beans came to my side and without a word, he just dusted me off. That afternoon I was sitting in class. I wasn't really paying attention. I didn't noticed but our teacher had called on me. Everybody stared. I sat there in silence. Nobody said anything. And then, then everyone just laughed at me. That was it. After today, I was officially a has-been.

But then one of the cool beans stood up and came over to me. Everybody watched. She leaned in close, and she whispered, Hey, the teacher asked you to read from page 32. Then she gave me a quick wink and went back to her seat. It was a small gesture, sure, but it was also everything. I walked home with a goofy smile on my face. I smiled all the way through dinner.

And that day made all the different. It was a day that could have been really, really bad, if not for the kindness of the cool beans. It gave me a shred of confidence, and that shred of confidence has continued to grow. Somebody had my back, or a few somebodies. After that, I started hanging out with the cool beans again. Not all the time, but sometimes, at lunch, at lunch. after school, even on the weekends. Throughout all of this, I realized it's not about how you look or any of that other silly stuff. It's about a wink or a nod or a smile at just the right moment.

It's about dusting somebody off, helping them up again, and pointing them in the right direction. You need a hand? Yes, please. Now that's cool. The end. Make sure to stick around to see if you can answer today's paying attention question. Before you go, do you think you can answer today's paying attention question? One of the cool beans was able to play an instrument. Do you remember what kind of instrument? If your answer was a guitar, you did it. Great job! You sure were paying attention! I hope you enjoyed that story.

I wonder what we're going to read next.