The Chocolate-Covered-Cookie Tantrum

by Deborah Blumenthal, Harvey Stevenson (Illustrator)

While in the park Sophie decides she wants a cookie and throws a tantrum when her mother will not give her what she wants.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Deborah Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist and nutritionist who now divides her time between writing children's books and adult novels. She has been a regular contributor to The New York Times (including four years as the Sunday New York Times Magazine beauty columnist), and a home design columnist for Long Island Newsday. Her health, fitness, beauty, travel, and feature stories have appeared widely in many other newspapers and national magazines including New York’s Daily News, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Self, and Vogue.

Blumenthal lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Abby Pecoriello · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daugheter who DOESN'T tantrum LOOOOVES this book. My daughter who does - HATES IT! Go figure!? It's a good one that doesn't hit you over the head with what you're supposed to think!

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Illustrations by Harvey Stevenson
Publication date: 1996
Fiction, Picture book

Summary:
In this book, Sophie and her mom are at the park. Sophie sees a little girl eating a chocolate covered cookie and she wants one too. Her mom unfortunately does not have one to give her, which does not sit well with Sophie and she breaks out in a pounding and kicking tantrum. Suddenly, Sophie's tantrum stops and her and her mother head home where Sophie takes a nap. When she wakes up she has dinner and then her mom hands her a chocolate covered cookie.

Evaluation:
The plot in this book is lacking. The climax of the book occurs quite quickly and suddenly drops off. This quick drop-off and short resolution does not help with the overall coherence of the story unless the reader is familiar with tantrums, maybe personally. I would recommend this book for interactive read alouds from preschool to kindergarden and emergent readers up to second grade. I would use this book to discuss emotions with young children. There is dialogue and metaphors that would be good teaching points. And I would discuss illustration and how it supports the story of the book.
The style of illustrations are not my favorite. They are fuzzy and might bother some readers. They do have a purpose however. As Sophie's tantrum grow the illustrations capture that emotion very well. As her emotions start spinning out of control, the world looks like it's spinning, birds are startled, and the ground starts to crack. Suddenly Sophie is no longer in the park, she is on top of a large mountain. As she is kicking and pounding, the illustration shows her feet coming from all angles. When Sophie's tantrum stops, the page is almost bare.

Discussion Questions:
1) What is a tantrum? What happens when someone has a tantrum?
2) On page 18 it says, "She cried so much her face felt hot as a pepper". Is her face really as hot as a pepper? What does that mean?
3) There are several places where the words are bolded and all capital letters, what do you think that means?
4) What do you think of the illustrations? Do you really think some of these things are happening? Why do you think the pictures are drawn that way?
5) What do you think the author's purpose for writing this book is?

[Abby Peskin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Behaviorally, I like that the mom didn't give in to her child when she had a tantrum, and give her a cookie to calm her down. She just waited out the tantrum and the child stopped crying and walked home with her. Then she got a cookie later as a reward for good behavior - finishing her dinner. That being said however, I'm not sure what the lesson is for children reading this book. The plot is very simple, and it doesn't seem to be teaching anything to children. It also doesn't seem like it would be very interesting to a child.

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book for preschoolers and younger. The illustrations are adorable and the simple language was easily repeatable my my 3 yr olds. No educational value except for reading and instilling the love of books in your child! Highly recommended for the smaller children.

[Sara Easterly · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you don’t know about The Chocolate-Covered-Cookie Tantrum, a picture book written by Deborah Blumenthal and illustrated by Harvey Stevenson, you must!

This is a story originally published in 1996 that’s thankfully still in print – for very good reason. It’s a delightfully simple story, perfectly capturing the essence of being a child and the big feelings of not being able to get your way all the time. How huge that frustration is to the child, and how that ultimately leads to the goal almost every parent wishes for their child: that they are able to adapt – grow to maturity and be able to roll with, and learn from, life’s many challenges.

Complete review at https://bookbonding.wordpress.com/201...

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't pinpoint exactly why, but I just didn't enjoy this book. I can tell you the first thing I noticed is the horrible blurriness of the illustrations. While it is more effective on the temper tantrum pages to capture the out of control feeling of Sophie while she's throwing the temper tantrum, it's just annoying in the rest of the story. I did appreciate that Mom didn't give in to the tantrum, but the book just left me feeling flat. Maybe it would be better for a parent whose kids throw temper tantrums regularly or kids who struggle with impulse control? For me it was just meh and I won't be using it in my story times.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 3 year has some Very Big Feelings and this book is amazing for helping him self-regulate. I start reading it whenever he is in the middle of a melt down and he always stops crying and starts listening to the book instead. I think the description of how out of control Sophie feels is validating for him. We’ve tried other books and they don’t have the same effect. Highly recommend to other parents who have tantrumy toddlers.

[Gustavo D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, TERRIBLE Kindle presentation

A good story my child identified with and payed attention, but it was very difficult to read; terrible image quality and content order....

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sophie sees another kid in the park with a cookie and she decides she has to have one ... RIGHT NOW! She screams and cries, but it does her no good.

[C (one.chapteratatime)]

This was my go-to-book as a mom.

[Naia Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO well done and SO fun to read!!

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a good book that shows a little of how a child perceives their want during a tantrum (it's so completely monumental and earth-shattering) as well as how it can be for the poor parent who is embarrassed to misery by the tantrum. But I love that the mother is so patient in this book. I like how it shows the child wear herself out, and how unattractive the whole tantrum is. (Reminds me of how my sister recorded her children during a tantrum and then played it for them when they started into one. The kids hated that!)

I especially love that the mother does not give in to the child's want for the cookie. Go discipline and strong parents! I have to say, though, I think I'm starting to crave a chocolate-covered cookie

[Rachel Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a little girl who is tired from playing at the park all day. She sees a little girl with a cookie and wants a cookie too. Her mother tells her she doesn't have a cookie. The little girl then proceeds to throw a major temper tantrum. After she finally calms down she goes home and takes a nap. After her nap she eats her dinner and then her mother surprises her with a cookie. My children could relate to this book because we are always telling them that whining and crying does not get them what they want.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely channels 3 year old energy. Make sure you have time to talk about this with your child if they are susceptible to emotional connections! I spent maybe 2 minutes after reading it with my daughter letting her replay the scenes and creating a parental safe space for her to express herself, but she was still mimicing the tantrum 10 minutes later when Mama was tucking her into bed. So perhaps I should clarify my rating and say it is 5 stars for the 3 year old, perhaps 3 stars for the parent!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! I got it for my daughter when she started to have her hissy fits. She was shocked to see a child act like that - hmmmmm mirror anyone? Just kidding, she's not that bad!

KHS teachers - I used this book to teach my kids HOM: Managing Impulsivity.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

not sure if the subject for whom it was intended "got it" but this book perfectly captures a child's tantrum in process. only criticism is at end when the child receives exactly what they were tantruming over. what message does that send?

[Rose]

E Blu

[nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

i still throw tantrums just like this.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good picture book to share with a child to discuss temper tantrums. It's very accurate and would be good to start a discussion...

[Cana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mommy says: Ever wonder what it feels like to be a toddler having a tantrum about a cookie? Deborah Blumenthal takes you there.

[Stacy Tippens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book about a little girl who has a tantrum because she doesn't get her way.

[Ricci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storytime 5-7-15; Mother's Day, perfect for acting out 'tantrums'

[Michaelle Pretlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a good book that shows a little of how a child perceives their wants during a tantrum. This book definitely channels 2-3 years old energy.