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The Screaming Chef
The creators of The Lonely Phone Booth and The Lonely Typewriter are at it again in their new children's book The Screaming Chef. Witty text and clever illustrations combine to create a silly yet serious picture book for readers of all ages which teaches that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, especially when you're singing.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
Published May 25, 2017
About the author
Peter Ackerman
16 books6 followersPeter Ackerman is an American playwright, actor, and screenwriter best known as a co-writer of the animated movies Ice Age and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs for 20th Century Fox. He began his career as an actor in the low budget movie Astronomy of Errors (2000), and later went on to perform off-Broadway in the Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) and in Visiting Mr. Green. Following his work on the Ice Age movies, Ackerman was a writer and producer on the TV series The Americans on FX channel, and was hired in 2017 as the screenwriter of The Angry Birds Movie 2 for Sony Pictures.
For the stage Ackerman's debut play, Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight, was performed off-Broadway in New York and at Soho Rep in London. He was commissioned by NPR to write the radio play, I’d Rather Eat Pants, which was broadcast as a short serial on Morning Edition. He authored the play, The Urn and his adaptation of The Pajama Game starring Harry Connick Jr., won the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival on Broadway. He has also written the children’s books The Lonely Typewriter, and The Lonely Phone Booth, which was produced as a musical at the Manhattan Children’s Theatre.
(source: Wikipedia)
For the stage Ackerman's debut play, Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight, was performed off-Broadway in New York and at Soho Rep in London. He was commissioned by NPR to write the radio play, I’d Rather Eat Pants, which was broadcast as a short serial on Morning Edition. He authored the play, The Urn and his adaptation of The Pajama Game starring Harry Connick Jr., won the Tony Award for Best Musical Revival on Broadway. He has also written the children’s books The Lonely Typewriter, and The Lonely Phone Booth, which was produced as a musical at the Manhattan Children’s Theatre.
(source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 24, 2022
A young boy with a penchant for screaming finds his calling in this third picture-book from author Peter Ackerman and illustrator Max Dalton. His long-suffering parents, having done everything in their power to stop his screams, eventually discover that eating and cooking are the only things that shut him up. Eventually, when his prodigious culinary skills are revealed, his parents open up a restaurant - Boy - where he serves as chef. But will he revert to screaming when he has a bad night on the job...?
A humorous send-up of the classic story of the badly-behaved child, The Screaming Chef highlights the idea that when young people have something to keep them busy - something they enjoy, and that gives them a sense of accomplishment - they are less likely to behave poorly. Leaving aside the question of message, the story here is amusing, and will no doubt keep young children entertained, as they recognize a little bit of themselves in the willful main character. The artwork is colorful and every bit as entertaining as the text, matching its somewhat zany humor perfectly. Recommended to all young screamers, and to anyone searching for children's stories that address screaming and how it effects the people around the screamer.
A humorous send-up of the classic story of the badly-behaved child, The Screaming Chef highlights the idea that when young people have something to keep them busy - something they enjoy, and that gives them a sense of accomplishment - they are less likely to behave poorly. Leaving aside the question of message, the story here is amusing, and will no doubt keep young children entertained, as they recognize a little bit of themselves in the willful main character. The artwork is colorful and every bit as entertaining as the text, matching its somewhat zany humor perfectly. Recommended to all young screamers, and to anyone searching for children's stories that address screaming and how it effects the people around the screamer.
April 21, 2020
This book is outrageous in every sense of the word and does everything to the extreeeeeeme!!!
Think your kids throw tantrums? Well, not like Boy. Think you're at your wit's end as a parent? Perhaps try a page from this zany tale. Plenty of laughs to go around, and if kids can convince their parents to drop their inhibitions when reading this aloud, the results are even better.
Bravo and delicioso!
Think your kids throw tantrums? Well, not like Boy. Think you're at your wit's end as a parent? Perhaps try a page from this zany tale. Plenty of laughs to go around, and if kids can convince their parents to drop their inhibitions when reading this aloud, the results are even better.
Bravo and delicioso!
April 15, 2020
Just watched Peter Ackerman, my old friend, reading this book and his two others this morning. My daughter loved them. Fun, inventive, and lots to talk about with my daughter from the “lonely series”— his books devoted to lost objects from another time—so far a telephone booth and a typewriter. Highly recommend!
March 20, 2026
Cute and funny! Its about a boy who just screams a lot no matter what unless he is eating food. Suddenly, he has a love of cooking and opens a restaurant. Will this new venture keep him satisfied? One can only hope. Adorable graphics and wonderful story.
October 30, 2017
interesting look at what to do with your emotions and finding an appropriate release for being upset.
February 23, 2018
7-year-old daughter: 👩🏼🍳👩🏼🍳👩🏼🍳
5-year-old daughter: 👩🏼🍳👩🏼🍳👩🏼🍳
5-year-old daughter: 👩🏼🍳👩🏼🍳👩🏼🍳
October 19, 2019
The chef I am related to NEVER screams!
November 21, 2021
This book is all over the place. It fat shames the main character and the child chef is extremely obnoxious.
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February 4, 2019In a stylish world of midcentury modern décor, a boy screams nonstop. His parents are out of ideas. Realizing he never shrieks when he eats, they cook him amazing food, but he grows huge. Soon he’s cooking himself and opens a fancy restaurant. The customers flock, but his frustration rises. The screaming starts again, until he adds singing to his repertoire. Ackerman and Dalton (“The Lonely Phone Booth”) have cooked up something witty and, as an example of the parental art of redirecting, perhaps inadvertently wise.
— The New York Times
The duo behind The Lonely Phone Booth and The Lonely Typewriter returns with a drily funny story about an unnamed boy who is prone to screaming. Ackerman’s story will have readers of all ages laughing, especially over diners’ reactions to the boy’s food: “A man drank soup straight from the bowl so he could clap.” Dalton’s illustrations create a chic 1950s-retro atmosphere, and just when it seems like the boy is just another Gordon Ramsay in the making, he finds another outlet for his anger. Kids (and chefs) take note.
— Publishers Weekly
— The New York Times
The duo behind The Lonely Phone Booth and The Lonely Typewriter returns with a drily funny story about an unnamed boy who is prone to screaming. Ackerman’s story will have readers of all ages laughing, especially over diners’ reactions to the boy’s food: “A man drank soup straight from the bowl so he could clap.” Dalton’s illustrations create a chic 1950s-retro atmosphere, and just when it seems like the boy is just another Gordon Ramsay in the making, he finds another outlet for his anger. Kids (and chefs) take note.
— Publishers Weekly
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews