Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom

Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom is a middle-grade graphic novel written by Matthew Swanson and illustrated by Robbi Behr. It was originally published in 2021. The story explores the day that Ben’s life is changed after getting a fortune cookie that urges him to live each day like his last. Throughout the day, Ben and his loved ones do things they’ve always wanted to do, foregrounding Having the Courage to Try New Things as a central theme. Ben’s new experiences with many mishaps along the way teach him The Importance of Living Life to Its Fullest and Forgiving and Learning from Mistakes. The Cookie of Doom was a Junior Library Guild selection and won the Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award. It is the first installment of the Cookie Chronicles series.

This guide is based on the 2021 Penguin Random House edition of the graphic novel.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of death.

Plot Summary

Eight-year-old Ben Yokoyama loves noodles more than anything, so he’s thrilled when Aunt Nora takes him to a Chinese restaurant. While Aunt Nora is distracted, taking photos for social media, Ben happily eats both his meal and her leftovers. At the end of the meal, the waiter brings fortune cookies, which Ben has never seen before. Aunt Nora explains they contain wisdom. Her fortune tells her to look around more often, but Ben’s tells him to live each day as though it is his last. The idea hits him so hard it feels like a black hole opening in his mind.

All night, Ben can’t stop thinking about the fortune. He sets his alarm clock for one minute after midnight, determined to treat the day as if it’s truly his final one. He forces himself out of bed and begins making a “last day” list. His first item is to eat his father’s forbidden cake from the freezer, which he does. Feeling brave, he adds more tasks to his list, like finishing a thousand-piece model and doing a difficult scooter trick. It’s still the middle of the night as Ben searches the house for glue to complete his model. He remembers it’s in his parents’ room and sneaks in to get it, startling his father awake. When Ben explains his plan to live the day as if it were his last, his father understands and decides to make his own last day list. He runs to the car and drives away on a mysterious errand. Meanwhile, Ben’s mother discovers the missing cake, and Ben admits he ate it. When Ben’s father returns with a flower for Ben’s mother, he confides to Ben that he’s planned a special, romantic date to celebrate their lives together. He reveals that the cake in the freezer is from their wedding day, and he’s been saving it for them to eat together on their 10th anniversary. Ben tells his mother about the cake, and she leaves to go buy ingredients, determined to replace it.

Ben goes to see his best friend, Janet, and tells her it might be his last day on Earth. Janet is initially doubtful but soon joins his mission to live fully, starting with cooking pancakes and eating uncooked spaghetti, followed by an entire bag of marshmallows. Later, Janet admits she has always wanted to try an apple from their neighbor Mrs. Ezra’s supposedly “cursed” tree, but is worried that Mrs. Ezra is a witch. Janet also decides to finish a latch-hook rug for her mother, and though Ben enjoys helping, he has to rush home when he sees his mother returning from the store. On the way home, he nearly attempts another item on his list: jumping the hedge of their grouchy neighbor, Mr. Hoggenweff. Just as he is about to jump, Mr. Hoggenweff spots him, and Ben changes course toward his own house.

At home, Ben helps his mother, who is getting more stressed by the minute, attempt an extremely complicated family cake recipe, which devolves into a disaster. Ben realizes he enjoyed the process anyway and hopes to do it again. They decide to buy a new cake instead, and while his mother is gone, Ben decides to apologize to his classmate Mona for accidentally hitting her with a Wiffle ball. The apology turns into spontaneous scooter lessons, during which Ben lands his first tail whip. Mona’s attempt ends with a fall, and her mother gets angry at Ben all over again.

Ben returns to help Janet finish her latch-hook rug, and for a moment they work well together, until Janet realizes Ben accidentally used brown yarn instead of blue, turning the flowers into a dead bouquet. Janet breaks down crying, which Ben has never seen her do. When she throws the ruined rug into the trash, Ben apologizes, admitting he rushed. Janet finally reveals that the rug had belonged to her father, who died in a car accident. Janet decides that, since her father can no longer live fully, she must, and chooses to cut her extremely long hair. Ben gives her a bold, pineapple-shaped haircut, which she loves.

Janet has Ben cover her in sticky notes before he leaves. On his way home, Ben attempts another leap over the hedge and crash-lands on top of it, splashing a tray of paint all over Mr. Hoggenweff’s cat. To help Janet feel better about the rug, Ben decides to retrieve an apple from Mrs. Ezra’s tree. With help from his five-year-old neighbor, Patty, he climbs into Mrs. Ezra’s yard and up the apple tree. Instead of scolding him, Mrs. Ezra invites him to pick apples, tell her his story, and even play a piano duet with her. She sends him home with the perfect apple and a new understanding that anyone’s “last day” mindset can lead to courage and kindness.

Ben returns home to find that the cake his mother bought is orange inside. Realizing they still need a proper replacement before his dad gets home, Ben runs to ask Mrs. Ezra for help, and she agrees to bake a new one. Ben keeps his mom distracted by eating the ruined cake and playing cards, but his dad arrives earlier than expected. Ben and his mother stall until Mrs. Ezra brings the finished cake. Ben distracts his father with exaggerated “injuries,” giving his mom time to sneak the cake into the freezer and hide the evidence.

To buy her even more time, Ben takes his dad outside to play catch. They nearly beat their record for the most catches in a row and talk about how good it feels to try new things. Inside, tensions rise as Mona, her mother, and Mr. Hoggenweff show up angry about Mona’s scooter fall and the ruined hedge. Mrs. Ezra steps in, calming everyone and pointing out that Mona isn’t hurt. As she cuts slices of an apple pie to share, Janet and her mom arrive. Janet is still covered in sticky notes, and her mother loves her new haircut. Ben retrieves Janet’s rug from the trash and reminds her that doing one’s best matters more than perfection. Janet’s mother loves the rug anyway. That night, Ben’s parents invite him to join their date, but he chooses to go to sleep early after an eventful day. After midnight, he wakes to a fortune cookie from his dad and realizes he will be around for another day after all.