Cool Classics! uses classic books to connect children to a unified world of reading, art, culture, humanities and ideas. Cool Classics! uses classic books to connect children to a unified world of reading, art, culture, humanities and ideas. Cool Classics! is a nationally recognized after-school program that uses book-based, arts-integrated curricula to improve literacy, develop critical thinking skills & introduce children in underserved communities to the arts & humanities. We are committed to being a vehicle for creating readers and critical thinkers. Our goal is to expand participating students' sense of the arts, cultures and humanities by helping to engage each child to become an avid reader, analytic thinker and thoughtful citizen. Our students' outcomes include improved social-emotional skills and behavior at school and at home, as well as higher scores on standardized tests. An overview of our work is at https://tinyurl.com/ydgncr8w. Our website at www.coolclassicschicago.org/ offers additional information.