Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom
42 pages • 1-hour read
Matthew Swanson, Illustr. Robbi BehrBen Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom
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Chapters 1-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
Chapter 1 Summary
Ben Yokoyama is eight years old, and his favorite food is noodles of any kind. He loves noodles so much that he always looks forward to eating them. Ben has short hair and a big smile on his face as he eats, and the opening pages show him surrounded by infinite varieties of noodles.
When Ben goes for dinner with his Aunt Nora, she takes him to a Chinese restaurant for the first time. Ben is overwhelmed by all the different choices of noodle dishes, but Aunt Nora just orders two of the same kind. As she sits on her phone, taking photos of her food and of herself, Ben enjoys his meal, and then starts on the unfinished half of hers. Afterward, the waiter brings fortune cookies, which Ben has never seen before. Aunt Nora explains that they contain wisdom, and Ben is always up for hearing something wise. Aunt Nora’s cookie advises her to look around more often, while Ben’s cookie tells him to live each day like his last. A black hole forms in Ben’s mind as he swallows this knowledge and mulls it over in his mind.
Chapter 2 Summary
Ben thinks about the wisdom of the fortune cookie all the way home, all night, and even while he dreams. Everything feels different, as though each day matters more than it did before.
Chapter 3 Summary
Ben wakes up at 12:01 am and convinces himself to get out of bed despite still wanting to sleep. He tells himself that if this is his last day on earth, he wants to spend it awake. Ben tries to make a list of the things he would want to do on his last day, but all he can think of is eating a piece of cake. His father has one stored in the freezer with a note attached to it, warning others not to eat it. While Ben usually refrains from disobeying his father, he tells himself that his last day is different. Ben eats every bit of the cake and feels like his plan is working well so far.
Chapter 4 Summary
Ben makes a longer list that includes things like finishing a 1000-piece model and performing a trick on his scooter. He wishes he could come up with bigger ideas and that he could talk to his best friend, Janet, about it, because her ideas are always big. It’s the middle of the night, so Ben has to improvise on his own. To finish his model, he needs his glue, which he remembers is in his parents’ closet. He lures the family dog Dumbles out of the room with strawberry milk, lets him outside, and then sneaks in to find his glue.
Chapter 5 Summary
Ben’s parents are both asleep, but Ben’s mother is much more relaxed than his father, who looks like he could wake at any moment. Ben creeps through the dark and finds his glue stuck to the carpet in the closet. Suddenly, his father startles awake.
Chapter 6 Summary
Dumbles starts howling from outside, making Ben’s father think there’s an intruder in the house. He convinces himself he must be dreaming and starts to dance around. Ben feels bad for his dad and comes out of the closet, admitting he was looking for his glue. His father gets angry at first, but when Ben says he’s worried it could be his last day, his father’s anger turns to compassion. He understands Ben’s worries and explores “what if” scenarios with him that include visualizations of asteroids hitting the earth and alien invasions. Suddenly, Ben’s dad worries that he isn’t living his life fully either, and gets in his car and drives away, confusing Ben. Ben pulls out his favorite book, Captain A-Ok, for inspiration, and begins working on his model of the Taj Mahal.
Chapter 7 Summary
Ben’s mother finds him asleep on the couch after completing his model. He wakes up and starts practicing Clair de Lune on the piano, warning his mother it could be his last day. His mother finds the note that used to be attached to Ben’s father’s cake before Ben ate it, and Ben gathers all his courage to admit what he’s done. Ben’s mother is immediately disappointed in him and frustrated by his new preoccupation with his “last day.”
Chapter 8 Summary
Ben’s father returns and gives his wife a flower, telling her not to make any plans that evening. When she leaves the room, Ben’s father tells Ben that he spent the night clearing weeds from the spot where he proposed to Ben’s mother. He hopes to take her there that night and propose again. All of this is confusing and strange to Ben until his dad mentions the cake, which he’s been saving since their wedding day to eat on their 10th anniversary.
Chapter 9 Summary
When Ben confesses to his mother the importance of the cake, she decides to bake a new one, despite never having done so before. She enlists Ben’s help and manages to get Ben’s father out of the house by asking him to go get a specific ice cream that is sold three hours away. Ben’s dad reluctantly agrees to go, knowing it could be his wife’s last day too. Next, Ben’s mother asks him to vacuum and then drives away, following a long, winding road to the grocery store and leaving Ben on his own. Ben decides it’s time to inform Janet about his last day list.
Chapters 1-9 Analysis
Structurally, Swanson’s text and Behr’s illustrations are fully integrated throughout the narrative, working together to tell the story. The story opens with a visual depiction of Ben’s love of noodles—the first two pages are filled with illustrations of different types of noodles, showing Ben surrounded by “Chow mein! Lo mein! Dandan! Chow fun! Ben wanted to eat a noodle that was fun!” (3). This visual emphasis shows his enthusiasm and sets up the comedic and adventurous world he inhabits. The fortune cookie he receives in the Chinese restaurant serves as the story’s inciting incident, catalyzing growth and change not just for Ben, but for those around him. When Ben opens his first fortune cookie, he reads, “Live each day as if it were your last” (8-9). The illustration shows the fortune disappearing into a black hole, suggesting the profound effect its message has on Ben’s worldview, turning an everyday setting into a moment of revelation. Visual elements reinforce the impact of the moment, such as the bubble above Ben’s head that reads, “he dreamed about it” (10), conveying his immediate mental preoccupation with the fortune. Silhouette lines across pages 10 and 11 trace his movements through the rooms of his house, emphasizing the passage of time and Ben’s energized state.
The collaborative effect of the text and images conveys tone, action, and humor. Black-and-white images emphasize shapes and movements, as seen in Dumbles the dog’s detailed, grumpy, half-awake state and the black pages representing sleep or nighttime. When Ben’s father wakes “like a panicky rabbit” (29), he is humorously drawn with rabbit ears, reinforcing the narrative’s comedic style. Moment-by-moment comic art illustrates Ben’s thought processes. For example, the text that reads “While Ben’s dad was talking, Ben’s brain wandered off to think about what else he should add to his list” (51) is accompanied by an illustration of Ben’s brain strolling away and then sprinting back during the conversation with his dad.
Swanson and Behr present Ben as an energetic, imaginative eight-year-old who embraces life fully, as seen through his love of noodles and enthusiasm for activities, introducing Having the Courage to Try New Things as a central theme in the narrative. In the opening scene, he’s contrasted with his Aunt Nora, who’s preoccupied with her phone and social media, and misses out on enjoying the food and the experience of the restaurant. Initially, Ben pursues living as though it were his last day with a sense of urgency and anxiety—a sense that he needs to get the day exactly right. This intensity is mirrored by his father, who joins Ben’s adventure with the same mindset. For example, when considering the possibilities of life and danger, his father is described as having “a look like a person who’s planning on climbing Mount Everest” (36), using a simile to show his enthusiasm for Ben’s perspective.
The plot develops tension and humor through Ben’s interpretation of the fortune. Immediately after receiving it, he struggles to come up with significant activities for his last day, and the biggest idea he can conceive is eating an entire cake. With each subsequent item on his list, the things that go wrong contribute to the humor and stakes of the narrative. For example, Ben sneaks into his parents’ room while they sleep to find the glue for his model, creating a moment of suspense. When Ben’s dad wakes and decides to embrace Ben’s quest along with him, he reveals that the cake Ben ate is actually from his parents’ wedding, and his dad has been saving it for their anniversary. Ben’s immediate regret introduces the theme of Forgiving and Learning from Mistakes.
Swanson and Behr use humor, similes, and playful language to establish the narrative tone and convey Ben’s experiences. Similes like “his mind devouring the wisdom like a black hole devouring planets and stars” (9) illustrate Ben’s preoccupation with the fortune. Emotion is expressed through exaggerated imagery: “With every word, Ben shrank an inch. By the time his mom was done talking, he was the size of a soda can that someone has flattened for recycling” (43). The use of repeated exclamation marks, such as “Chow mein! Lo mein! Dandan! Chow fun! Ben wanted to eat a noodle that was fun!” (3) highlights Ben’s natural enthusiasm for life. The authors also use challenging vocabulary to enhance comprehension among the novel’s middle-grade audience.
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