Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie War

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Two best friends are pushed to the breaking point when a class election gets out of hand! Rivalry and ridiculousness abound in this delicious, zanily-illustrated adventure for readers who love Wimpy Kid and Dog Man.

It's the start of a new school year at Honeycutt Elementary and that means one thing: student council elections!

Best friends, Ben and Janet are determined not to let Amy Lou Bonnerman become 4th grade class president, subjecting the whole school to a pony-themed carnival. But when they both decide to run against her, they become rivals!

At first it's all funny posters, free gum, and pie-in-the-sky ideas for how to make the school a better place. But before long, the campaign goes negative—with mean rumors and put-downs and even sabotage at play. Will this lifelong friendship survive the first week of fourth grade?

From the husband-and-wife, author-and-illustrator duo that brought you Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom comes a tale about keeping your friends close—even when they start to look like enemies.

Story Locale:Anytown USA

Series Overview: THE COOKIE CHRONICLES is a richly-illustrated middle grade series starring 9-year-old Ben Yokoyama, who gets a new fortune each book, and goes on a new adventure as a result. There are seven books planned, each spaced 9 months apart.

About the Author

Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr are the husband/wife, author/illustrator team behind the Cookie Chronicles, The Real McCoys, Babies Ruin Everything, and Everywhere, Wonder (Imprint Books). Until recently, they also ran two small presses: Bobbledy Books and Idiots' Books. These days, they spend most of their time making books and raising four kids in the hayloft of an old barn in Chestertown, Maryland. They spend the rest of their time speaking, teaching, and leading workshops on collaboration and creative entrepreneurship—and the rest of the rest of their time running a commercial salmon-fishing operation on the Alaskan tundra.

Author Residence: Chestertown, Maryland