Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Destiny

by Matthew Swanson, Robbi Behr (illustrator)

A cross-country road trip takes a turn for the weird when 10-year-old Ben discovers a stowaway in the family camper! Hijincks hit the gas as two besties go the distance to save their friendship in this funny, heartfelt middle grade caper.

One of Slate’s 25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years

Ben Yokoyama is not moving to California. But his parents seem to think otherwise. It's a great opportunity, they say, never mind that Ben will have to leave his best friend Janet behind—possibly forever.

A day into the dreaded cross-country drive, Ben discovers that Janet has secretly stowed away. This is amazing news! Now they can stay friends and start a new life in California. Schemes are hatched, rules are bent, puppies are adopted and bowling alley parking lots set the stage for a brand new pop duo to get their big break.

From the husband-and-wife, author-and-illustrator duo that brought you Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom comes a series finale so epic it will make you want to read the whole thing over again.

Kindle Edition

Published August 19, 2025

About the author

Matthew Swanson (and his wife Robbi Behr) are author and illustrator of the critically acclaimed Cookie Chronicles series, The Real McCoys trilogy, and the picture books Sunrise Summer, Babies Ruin Everything, and Everywhere, Wonder. When not advocating for local schools, giving talks on creative entrepreneurship, or running a summer salmon fishing operation on the Alaskan tundra, we live in an old barn on the Eastern Shore of Maryland—making books and raising our four kids.

Matthew and Robbi will spend the 2022-2023 school year crisscrossing the United States in a school bus/tiny home with our four kids, visiting underserved elementary schools in all 50 states (plus DC), and giving away 25,000 free hardcover books to students and teachers from low-income communities. To learn more about the Busload of Books tour, go to: www.busloadofbooks.com.