Ben Yokoyama and the cookie of doom by Matthew Swanson, illustrated by Robbi Behr

 Like any funny, illustrated notebook novel, this book is immediately compared to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It's not at all like Wimpy Kid, and in the best possible way. What stood out to me in this book was how nice all the characters were - I especially liked the sweet relationship between Ben and his parents, and his mom and his dad.

The story begins with eight year old Ben at a Chinese restaurant with his Aunt Nora. It's his first time (his family usually goes out to Japanese restaurants) and he's overwhelmed by all the options. Finally, after a brief departure into how much he loves noodles, he orders, enjoys his meal, and receives... a fortune cookie. His fortune is "Live each day as if it were your last." Tomorrow could be his LAST DAY??

After panicking, Ben decides he needs to make the most of his possible last day and, starting by waking up at 12:01am to complete his 1,000 piece model of the Taj Mahal and eat a piece of frozen cake, he begins a series of funny, touching, and sometimes scary experiences. Along the way readers will meet Ben's best friend Janet, Ben's eccentric neighbors including the might-be-a-witch Mrs. Ezra, and experience the wild ride as Ben and his mom try to salvage the events set in motion by Ben's eating the forbidden piece of cake, which includes baking a cake (note: tartar sauce does not substitute for cream of tartar.)

Behr's black and white illustrations pepper the book from creative swirls showing Ben's busy thoughts to depictions of his family, diverse neighbors, and various shenanigans. The back of the book is a conversation about the book between the married author and illustrator. Behr, who is "half-Japanese" like Ben talks about how she relates to the character while poking fun at her husband for writing too many books for her to illustrate!

The book is genuinely funny but also genuinely sweet. Even when Ben makes mistakes or inadvertently does the wrong thing and gets in trouble, his family is both supportive and firm. Readers can't help but cheer when he accomplishes his special trick on his scooter, hold their breath when he tries to leap his grouchy neighbor's hedge, and cry a little as he comforts Janet when she tells him her feelings about her deceased father. One of the funniest and sweetest parts of the book is the wacky enthusiasm of Ben's father for recreating his proposal and wedding while taking Ben's mom on a date to celebrate their "nine years, three months, and seventeen days anniversary" and the shenanigans that ensue when Ben's mom, who has never baked a cake, tries to recreate the saved piece of wedding cake (which Ben ate) so he won't be disappointed.

This book proves you can be funny without being mean and models a warm and supportive community and family relationship. It probably won't appeal much to kids who are die-hard Wimpy Kid fans and have thus trained themselves to consider his nasty behavior as "funny" but for younger readers this is a perfect book to get them laughing, thinking, and feeling along with the character.

Verdict: I can't wait to buy the other cookie stories in this series and recommend this to young readers and their parents who want the humor of a notebook novel without the mean-spirited behavior so often depicted. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780593302750; Published March 2021 by Alfred Knopf; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library