Member Reviews
As a continuation of the Cookies of Doom Series, this book continues Ben's journey as he learns lessons of life. I continue to enjoy the written word and drawings intersperced throughout the pages that remind me of the graphic novels and mangas I grew up with. I enjoy the useage of fortune cookies as a way to delve into lessons such as 'live each day like your last.'
Second Book of the Cookie Chronicles, and I am still in love with this fun adventure. Loved the illustrations (amazing job as always) and the stories were really funny. This is a must-read for young readers and kids will love it.
Another entertaining and funny installment in the Yokoyama series. These books are chock full of figurative language, adorable illustrations, and are perfect for young readers. I love that each book is centered around a fortune that Ben receives. In this story, Ben learns the importance of patience when a fortune tells him "good things come to those who wait". But he quickly discovers that maybe waiting for something isn't always the answer?
I loved seeing Ben continue on his journeys after book 1! Adorable, hilarious and filled with amazing illustrations, this is definitely a Middle Grade novel I wished I had in my childhood.
A simple plot in the vein of Clementine or Junie B Jones. Ben is a bit reckless, inclined to act without thinking which gets him into degrees of trouble. He also often misunderstands or ,misinterprets things he's heard, taking things literally which leads to a degree of misadventure. The moral lessons are obvious without being heavy handed.
After reading the first book and really enjoying that book I could not wait to read this next book. These books are so fun to read. They are like an adventure. You will go on an reading adventure when you pick up these books.
In the first book, readers learn of Ben's great love for fortune cookies. They are both delicious and hold words of wisdom. This time the fortune tells Ben "Good things come to those who wait". So, Ben learns the lesson of patience as well as rekindles a lost friendship.
In the prior novel, I got to meet Janet, who is Ben's friend. In this book, I got to meet a bunch of Ben's classmates including Walter. I like Ben at first was annoyed by Walter but the more I got to know about him; he grew on me. So glad that Ben and Walter reconnected. I hope to read more adventures of Ben and his fortune cookies.
Ben Yokoyama is back, this time with a new fortune that suggests good things come to those who wait. Like before, he corrals his friends and family into following along with him. His friends and family are equally larger than life, and I appreciated how the book tackled some real issues people face amidst the jokes and humor.
3.5 stars = Good+
This is the first book I have read from this series. I got a kick out of Ben and the influence of the fortune from the cookie on his life. The illustrations are great, and the scavenger hunt is something I think readers will enjoy. At its core, this is a friendship story, and it's a good one. I appreciated the way Ben works through various friendship issues along the way.
The characters in this are young for middle grade books - 8 going on 9. Because of that and with some of the silliness in the story, I think this would also work for kids reading early chapter books who are ready for something longer and a little more nuanced.
I loved this book so much! I enjoyed the story and the writing and the characters were fun but not overly fun. I love how the story got serious at a point but not too serious that it was unenjoyable.
"Good things come to those who wait"
Ben Yokoyama adventures again with another fortune from his cookie! He tries and tries to wait for many things, thinking that good things will happen to him. As he waits, his teacher assigns the class a scavenger hunt for words & Ben is partnered with Walter, a strange kid who he used to be friends with. I loved this book even more than Ben's first adventure; throughout this story, Ben tries to understand why friendships sometimes fall apart, as he wonders why he isn't really friends anymore with Walter. They work together to try and find the answers to the scavenger hunt & their time together is filled with both frustration and laughter. Overall, this is a lovely story to remind children to be kind to one another as you grow older, even in what sometimes feels like difficult social situations.
Thanks to NetGalley for access to this ARC! "Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Endless Waiting," is a wonderful continuation to this illustrated chapter book series. My son (age 9) enjoys following Ben's adventures and character story. Hope to see more from this series!
When his aunt drops off yet another fortune cookie for Ben, he takes the message "Good things come to those who wait" to heart. If he had waited until lunch to eat the cookie, he wouldn't have had to give it to the bossy neighbor girl! With this new philosophy in place, Ben tries to wait for things instead of hopping right into situations. This means that he makes Janet angry when he waits for her to come to him, and she gets soaked, although HE doesn't get wet, so it might be a good plan. Unfortunately, it also means that he gets stuck with Walter for the class scavenger hunt. Walter is the kid with whom no one wants to work, and it's even more awkward because he and Ben used to be good friends. Ben really wants to win the scavenger hunt, and even forgoes waiting so he has a better chance of winning. Walter ends up having a lot of the answers, and Ben really does try to work well with him and be a good friend, even losing dodge ball because he is trying to protect the hapless Walter. It's not always easy to be someone's friend, though, and the two have a falling out. Will Ben be able to both win the scavenger hunt and stay friends with Walter.
Strengths: The fortune cookie tie-in is a good artifice, even if it isn't as strong as the first book. The class scavenger hunt is fun, and there are some great universal truths in the book. (From the uncorrected proof: "Ben did love dodgeball. But he didn't love how dodgeball made some people feel bad.") This was a great school story, and fun to watch the principal, who shoots baskets and seems to be a very active part of school life. The pages are really well formatted, and all I'll need to do to get a student to check this out is to open the book and show them some of them. Looking forward to the third book, the Cookie of Perfection.
Weaknesses: Ben is in third grade, and there are some things that just seem very young.
What I really think: I still REALLY enjoyed the page layouts, and it is a good, if somewhat young, story about friendship. The pictures will trick my middle school readers into reading it!
A wonderful story about friendship and growing up. I had a blast reading this and enjoyed all the artwork and food mentions in this book! Definitely a great book to get kids to read longer books without losing any enjoyment. The story was engaging and the artwork was fantastic!
*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*