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The Sweetest Fig: A Mysterious Fantasy Picture Book About Dreams Becoming Reality for Children
"These figs are very special," the woman whispered. "They can make your dreams come true." -- Thus Monsieur Bibot, the cold-hearted dentist, was given two ordinary-looking figs as payment for extracting a tooth from an old woman's mouth. Monsieur Bibot refused to believe such nonsense and proceeded to eat one of the figs for a bedtime snack. Although it was possibly the finest, sweetest fig he had ever tasted, it wasn't until the next morning that Monsieur Bibot realized it indeed had the power to make his dreams come true. While dragging his poor dog, Marcel, out for his walk, he discovered that his strange dream from the night before was becoming all too real. Determined to make good use of the second fig, Monsieur Bibot learns to control is dreams. But can he control Marcel? Once again Chris Van Allsburg explores the mysterious territory between fantasy and reality in an uncanny tale that will intrigue readers of all ages.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 1993
13 people are currently reading
1586 people want to read
About the author
Chris Van Allsburg
56 books1,129 followersChris was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 18, 1949, the second child of Doris Christiansen Van Allsburg and Richard Van Allsburg. His sister Karen was born in 1947.
Chris’s paternal grandfather, Peter, owned and operated a creamery, a place where milk was turned into butter, cream, cottage cheese, and ice cream. It was named East End Creamery and after they bottled the milk (and made the other products) they delivered it to homes all around Grand Rapids in yellow and blue trucks.
When Chris was born, his family lived in an old farm house next door to the large brick creamery building. It was a very old house that, like the little house in Virginia Lee Burton’s story, had once looked over farmland. But by 1949, the house was surrounded by buildings and other houses. Chris’s father ran the dairy with Chris’s three uncles after his grandfather Peter retired.
When Chris was three years old, his family moved to a new house at the edge of Grand Rapids that was part of a development; a kind of planned neighborhood, that was still being built.
There remained many open fields and streams and ponds where a boy could catch minnows and frogs, or see a firefly at night. It was about a mile and a half to Breton Downs School, which Chris walked to every day and attended until 6th grade, when the Van Allsburg family moved again.
The next house they lived in was an old brick Tudor Style house in East Grand Rapids. It was a street that looked like the street on the cover of The Polar Express. The houses were all set back the same distance from the street. Between the street and the sidewalk grew enormous Elm trees whose branches reached up and touched the branches of the trees on the other side of the street. Chris moved to this street with his mom, dad, sister, and two Siamese cats. One named Fafner and the other name Eloise.
Chris went to junior and senior high school in East Grand Rapids. He didn’t take art classes during this time. His interests and talents seemed to be more in the area of math and science.
Chris’s paternal grandfather, Peter, owned and operated a creamery, a place where milk was turned into butter, cream, cottage cheese, and ice cream. It was named East End Creamery and after they bottled the milk (and made the other products) they delivered it to homes all around Grand Rapids in yellow and blue trucks.
When Chris was born, his family lived in an old farm house next door to the large brick creamery building. It was a very old house that, like the little house in Virginia Lee Burton’s story, had once looked over farmland. But by 1949, the house was surrounded by buildings and other houses. Chris’s father ran the dairy with Chris’s three uncles after his grandfather Peter retired.
When Chris was three years old, his family moved to a new house at the edge of Grand Rapids that was part of a development; a kind of planned neighborhood, that was still being built.
There remained many open fields and streams and ponds where a boy could catch minnows and frogs, or see a firefly at night. It was about a mile and a half to Breton Downs School, which Chris walked to every day and attended until 6th grade, when the Van Allsburg family moved again.
The next house they lived in was an old brick Tudor Style house in East Grand Rapids. It was a street that looked like the street on the cover of The Polar Express. The houses were all set back the same distance from the street. Between the street and the sidewalk grew enormous Elm trees whose branches reached up and touched the branches of the trees on the other side of the street. Chris moved to this street with his mom, dad, sister, and two Siamese cats. One named Fafner and the other name Eloise.
Chris went to junior and senior high school in East Grand Rapids. He didn’t take art classes during this time. His interests and talents seemed to be more in the area of math and science.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 409 reviews
February 22, 2020
Revenge can be so sweet. This (not really) is a kids revenge tale. I love the twist at the end.
The story is about an uptight dentist named Monsieur Bibot. He is rude and a snobby and set in his ways. He isn’t very kind to his dog. Our story starts with him seeing a woman who, gasp, didn’t have an appointment, but she had terrible pain in her mouth. He pulled the tooth and the woman paid in 2 magic figs. He was so mad that he wouldn’t give her pain pills after. A, you just know he’s going to get what’s coming to him, kind of story
Of course, he doesn’t believe the old woman about the figs being magic. He eats the first and doesn’t make a wish, but in his dreams his mind wants something and the next day it happens and he believes the old woman. He spends days getting his wish just right and ….
The nephew loved the end and he laughed. The man got what he needed to. The nephew thought this was a great book. It’s short and classic Chris Allsburg. He laughed at the end. He gave this 4 stars. He wants to read this again.
SPOILERS:
I have to speak on the end. It’s so good. You need to go read it, but the dog eats the fig and Bibot wakes up as the dog and the dog is now in Bibot’s body and the man’s trying to take out Bibot the dog. They switched places. It’s the best ending ever. It’s so wonderful. READ THIS BOOK.
The story is about an uptight dentist named Monsieur Bibot. He is rude and a snobby and set in his ways. He isn’t very kind to his dog. Our story starts with him seeing a woman who, gasp, didn’t have an appointment, but she had terrible pain in her mouth. He pulled the tooth and the woman paid in 2 magic figs. He was so mad that he wouldn’t give her pain pills after. A, you just know he’s going to get what’s coming to him, kind of story
Of course, he doesn’t believe the old woman about the figs being magic. He eats the first and doesn’t make a wish, but in his dreams his mind wants something and the next day it happens and he believes the old woman. He spends days getting his wish just right and ….
The nephew loved the end and he laughed. The man got what he needed to. The nephew thought this was a great book. It’s short and classic Chris Allsburg. He laughed at the end. He gave this 4 stars. He wants to read this again.
SPOILERS:
I have to speak on the end. It’s so good. You need to go read it, but the dog eats the fig and Bibot wakes up as the dog and the dog is now in Bibot’s body and the man’s trying to take out Bibot the dog. They switched places. It’s the best ending ever. It’s so wonderful. READ THIS BOOK.
June 9, 2010
“The Sweetest Fig” is a mysterious children’s book from the brilliant mind of Chris Van Allsburg which is about how a picky man named Monsieur Bibot who receives two mysterious figs from an old woman and after he learns the magic of the two figs, he suddenly gets unexpected consequences. “The Sweetest Fig” is truly a brilliant book about the consequences of treating others unkindly that many children will love for many years.
Chris Van Allsburg has done an excellent job with illustrating this book as the images look beautiful and haunting at the same time. The main colors used in this book are black, brown, and white which give the book a somewhat bleak yet fascinating look. The images that stood out the most were the images of Bibot and Marcel themselves as Bibot truly looks like a proper yet haughty man as his clothes are truly refined and he has a pointy mustache, while his dog Marcel, is a white dog who looks miserable in every image as Bibot mistreats him constantly. Also, the image of the Eiffel Tower bending down towards Bibot is both imaginative and haunting at the same time as it looks odd that a famous monument of the world is bending around in a surreal way. Chris Van Allsburg makes this story extremely mysterious and dramatic at the same time as he poses Monsieur Bibot’s fussy attitude in a negative light, making him a truly unlikable character to bear with, while children will feel sympathy for his dog Marcel, who has to endure his cruel treatment. Chris Van Allsburg also successfully points out the message about the consequences of being cruel towards other people as Bibot soon realizes that being cruel can bring about disastrous consequences.
Parents should know that the ending of this book might confuse or scare smaller children. I will not tell you what happens at the end since I want you to read the books for yourselves, however, let me just say that Bibot gets what he deserves at the end of the book. Parents might want to reassure their children that the fantasy elements in this book which includes the Eiffel Tower bending over are not real and will not happen in real life.
“The Sweetest Fig” is a fantastic story about being careful what you wish for and to not mistreat other people or in this case, your pets. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the ending of this book might scare or confuse smaller children.
Chris Van Allsburg has done an excellent job with illustrating this book as the images look beautiful and haunting at the same time. The main colors used in this book are black, brown, and white which give the book a somewhat bleak yet fascinating look. The images that stood out the most were the images of Bibot and Marcel themselves as Bibot truly looks like a proper yet haughty man as his clothes are truly refined and he has a pointy mustache, while his dog Marcel, is a white dog who looks miserable in every image as Bibot mistreats him constantly. Also, the image of the Eiffel Tower bending down towards Bibot is both imaginative and haunting at the same time as it looks odd that a famous monument of the world is bending around in a surreal way. Chris Van Allsburg makes this story extremely mysterious and dramatic at the same time as he poses Monsieur Bibot’s fussy attitude in a negative light, making him a truly unlikable character to bear with, while children will feel sympathy for his dog Marcel, who has to endure his cruel treatment. Chris Van Allsburg also successfully points out the message about the consequences of being cruel towards other people as Bibot soon realizes that being cruel can bring about disastrous consequences.
Parents should know that the ending of this book might confuse or scare smaller children. I will not tell you what happens at the end since I want you to read the books for yourselves, however, let me just say that Bibot gets what he deserves at the end of the book. Parents might want to reassure their children that the fantasy elements in this book which includes the Eiffel Tower bending over are not real and will not happen in real life.
“The Sweetest Fig” is a fantastic story about being careful what you wish for and to not mistreat other people or in this case, your pets. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the ending of this book might scare or confuse smaller children.
November 22, 2016
The best part of this book was the cover. It made me laugh. However, I thought the book was a bit mean spirited and the switch-a-roo at the end, a bit Kafkaesque. I've read other reviewers that were delighted about the ending, but I just felt like neither character was going to come to any good. The pictures are well drawn, but the sentiment of them, again, mean spirited.
November 14, 2018
With Van Allsburg the marriage between word and picture is always the purest delight to behold. With each book, he finds that balance in the narrative that is full of elegant pauses, corners of mystery and endings that leaving you with a crooked smile upon your face and a mind full of afterthoughts.
The Sweetest Fig has the reader follow the rather orderly, strict and modestly well-to-do life of Bibot, a Parisian dentist. When an elderly customer pays him with two 'magical' figs that she promises will make his dreams come true, he is outraged by such nonsensical imagination and casts her out returning home to his unloved and maltreated dog. When he eventually dines on one, he finds that his rather mundane life is changed forever.
Allsberg's artwork is always a delight and there is none whose pencil-work comes close. This time in sepia, Allsburg captures the dentist's regimented, orderly life so well in clinical framing and sparse, linear lifestyle. As always, he saves the best till last with a beautiful, grin-inducing ending which I have no doubt children will love.
The Sweetest Fig has the reader follow the rather orderly, strict and modestly well-to-do life of Bibot, a Parisian dentist. When an elderly customer pays him with two 'magical' figs that she promises will make his dreams come true, he is outraged by such nonsensical imagination and casts her out returning home to his unloved and maltreated dog. When he eventually dines on one, he finds that his rather mundane life is changed forever.
Allsberg's artwork is always a delight and there is none whose pencil-work comes close. This time in sepia, Allsburg captures the dentist's regimented, orderly life so well in clinical framing and sparse, linear lifestyle. As always, he saves the best till last with a beautiful, grin-inducing ending which I have no doubt children will love.
March 28, 2014
This is a magic realism picture book about a Parisian dentist who is paid by one of his patients with magic two figs. He eats one of the figs and the next day, he realizes that the dream he had the night before came true. He sees the Eiffel Tower turned into rubber. He decides to train himself to dream that he is a rich man. After a few nights of dreaming about being rich, he decides it’s time to eat the last fig. When he has his back turned, his dog (who he mistreats earlier in the book) eats the fig he has sitting on his plate. The next day, the dentist and the dog have switched bodies!
This book would be a great book to use to teach inference. The book ends with a picture of the characters on the morning in which they switched places. I think it would be very interesting to ask students to write about what that first day would be like for both characters. Would the dog character be cruel to his owner in retaliation, or would he be kind because he knows what it is like to be mistreated? I would recommend this book for grades 2-4.
This book would be a great book to use to teach inference. The book ends with a picture of the characters on the morning in which they switched places. I think it would be very interesting to ask students to write about what that first day would be like for both characters. Would the dog character be cruel to his owner in retaliation, or would he be kind because he knows what it is like to be mistreated? I would recommend this book for grades 2-4.
December 1, 2008
A good tale of just and unjust and a well-deserved revenge - the "bad" guy is perfectly awful so his comeuppance does not upset. I actually liked this book a lot but the end read very abruptly. One more page or something would have helped make it feel complete.
August 10, 2016
I've been working my way through the "1001 Children's Books to Read Before You Grow Up" list, and this particular title caught my eye. It was a fun story, set in Paris (winning). The illustrations were amazing, and I loved the fantasy aspects of the plot.
February 14, 2018
The text tells a story about a man who is not very kind and undeserving on magical figs. The text flows with the illustrations and the ending was definitely unpredictable. A dentist was working one day when an old lady came in moaning about a toothache. When he fixed the tooth the lady could only pay in figs, but she claimed that they were magical figs that could make dreams come true. The dentist scoffed at this but took them home anyways. That night he ate one before bed and the next day he found himself in a bizarre situation. His suit disappeared and he was left standing in his underwear in front of a cafe and the eiffel tower was drooping just like in his dream. So he went home and learned about hypnosis so that he could dream about being the richest man in the world. Once his dream had been repeating consistently he decided it was time to eat the second fig. He prepared it for dinner but when he went to eat it the dog had gotten ahold of it before he could eat it. The next morning he woke up under the bed staring at his own face telling him it was time to go for his walk...
February 26, 2019
I first read this book when I was in elementary school. I fell in love with it immediately. This story draws you in as a reader from the first page. Author and Illustrator Van Allsburg draws you in with his mysterious style of drawing and his way with words. By having full-page images that bleed onto the accompanying page Allsburg is able to provide a level of detail to his images that tell the rest of the story for him without his words. This story sparks the imagination is not only the children reading it but also the adults. I read this book with a group of second graders and they were enthralled from the first page, they wanted to know what would happen next, they thought the characters were absolutely fascinating, and the fig caused dreams were funny. The text of this story is contained in boxes at the top corners of the pages thus allowing the reader to focus on the words than on the illustrations.
November 23, 2014
After reading a picture book, I try to guess what inspired the author/artist. Today's question is, why would someone write such a snarky little kid's book with such soft and lovely art?
Scene:
A small cafe with an outdoor section.
VAN ALLSBURG sits in the sunshine with a coffee and his sketchbook, waiting for inspiration to strike. He rubs his jaw, still throbbing from a trip to the dentist.
A nattily dressed man crosses the sidewalk, dragging his dog and yanking the leash.
VAN ALLSBURG eyes the dog owner with obvious irritation.
"What an asshole," he mumbles.
Pause.
Close up of VAN ALLSBURG's face filling with deliciously vengeful glee.
"I know just what to draw..."
Scene:
A small cafe with an outdoor section.
VAN ALLSBURG sits in the sunshine with a coffee and his sketchbook, waiting for inspiration to strike. He rubs his jaw, still throbbing from a trip to the dentist.
A nattily dressed man crosses the sidewalk, dragging his dog and yanking the leash.
VAN ALLSBURG eyes the dog owner with obvious irritation.
"What an asshole," he mumbles.
Pause.
Close up of VAN ALLSBURG's face filling with deliciously vengeful glee.
"I know just what to draw..."
October 23, 2017
In The Sweetest Fig, Dr. Bebot has a dog and is not very nice to the dog. He will often pull his dog's leash or do various other mean things throughout the book. When a woman needs help with her teeth, Dr. Bebot helps her, but is infuriated when she cannot pay for his work. The woman offers Bebot figs, which Bebot takes. Bebot makes wishes on these figs through his dreams. However, Bebot finds out that he should be careful what he wishes for and how he treats others!
This is a great book to help teach theme and talk about character descriptions. I used this book with my fifth graders, and they absolutely loved it!
This is a great book to help teach theme and talk about character descriptions. I used this book with my fifth graders, and they absolutely loved it!
August 18, 2016
Another excellent book by Van Allsburg. An egotistical and cruel hearted man who is incredibly abusive toward his dog receives two figs from a mysterious old woman. She has only these fruits to give in payment to him for dental work he had done for her. He disdainfully takes the figs as she tells him that they make dreams come true. He finds this to indeed be the case in a fun twist of events involving his poor abused dog at the end of the story. A great book for allowing the opportunity for prediction and for inference. A lot of fun!
February 6, 2017
One of the pleasures of reading a Van Allsburg book is finding the bull terrier in his amazing illustrations...sometimes he's a plush toy, or a pull toy, or just a fleeting figure on a busy street scene. What fun to finally have a bull terrier play a major role!
Marcel's owner is an insufferable man, a dentist who seems to enjoy inflicting pain...when a patient cannot pay, she gives him two of the sweetest figs in the world, and tells him whatever he dreams after eating the fig will come to pass...and that's when Marcel's revenge begins.
Clever, visually stunning and soo satisfying
Marcel's owner is an insufferable man, a dentist who seems to enjoy inflicting pain...when a patient cannot pay, she gives him two of the sweetest figs in the world, and tells him whatever he dreams after eating the fig will come to pass...and that's when Marcel's revenge begins.
Clever, visually stunning and soo satisfying
October 9, 2018
A strangely unnerving and intriguing story that bears witness to the consequences of greed and cold-heartedness. The narrative becomes richer with each read, allowing more connections to be made between unraveling events and the earlier actions of Monsieur Bibot. There is a very surreal and magical feel to Allsburg’s illustrations, particularly in the dreams breaking into reality and the chaos that ensues for the antagonist. This certainly calls external forces or fate into my mind, and allows for an interesting debate as to who is in control of Monsieur Bibot’s downfall.
November 1, 2011
I'm starting a Chris Van Allsburg unit with my 3rd grade classes. We read this book to kick off the unit and to talk about making inferences. The kids really liked it -- the twist at the end was well done and my students enjoyed explaining how they figured out what really happened. Recommended for grades 3 and up. Younger students may also like the book but will need a bit more support to read between the lines.
April 15, 2018
The illustrations alone, are worth the read! Bibot is not only a dentist, but a mean guy. The ending!!! Oh my! Lesson: control your dreams when eating sweet figs? Be kind to your pets? Don’t look a gift fig in the mouth?
This fulfills the popsugar reading challenge for book with a fruit or vegetable in the title.
This fulfills the popsugar reading challenge for book with a fruit or vegetable in the title.
December 7, 2010
A sweet and stylized look at the pitfalls of narcissism, The Sweetest Fig brings to mind the clean simplicity of certain French films and American novels and manages an artfulness in 20 pages most can't in 300.
July 3, 2016
Very unsettling and creepy. I wondered where it is going with the story at first then it ends up just giving me the willies when I finished. I am not sure I was so unsettled by this book upon first reading and a little child. Something made me not like it but I was not so unerved I don't think.
December 13, 2016
A remarkable juxtaposition between good and evil and the symbolic use of the fig is pure genius!
April 17, 2018
What a surprise ending and I love the illustations.
October 13, 2018
This is the second clunker I've read from this author, and both books were about cruelty to animals, which, frankly, is an odd theme for a picture book.
September 24, 2025
دمها خفيف وحبيت أسلوب الرسم بتاعها.
August 16, 2024
I can easily read 200 more pages of this (with more art included ofc. I want to devour the art •_•)
I, for some reason, have the urge to revisit childhood favourites. This is one of them :’) so good
I, for some reason, have the urge to revisit childhood favourites. This is one of them :’) so good
April 13, 2019
Excellent pour enseigner les inférences au troisième cycle du primaire.
December 4, 2023
"Una cucharada de su propia medicina"
Es para niños pero se disfruta y mucho 😏
Es para niños pero se disfruta y mucho 😏
September 15, 2020
Nope, this author and I are not simpatico. Dentists don't pull teeth so casually, and dogs have more intelligent desires. LFL find.
November 22, 2024
Recommended by my granddaughter Eloise, who is 8. I loved it Eloise and the illustrations were so well done!
January 26, 2025
justice for marcel!
i love the dark humor and the revenge we get to see here.
i love the dark humor and the revenge we get to see here.
October 7, 2019
In his book “The Sweetest Fig”, Chris Van Allsburg tells the story of a dentist named Monsieur Bibot and his dog, Marcel. One day he receives a patient who needs a tooth removed, and he is horrified to find out that she has no money to pay him for his services once he is done. However, she provides him with two figs that she claims will make all his dreams come true. That night he eats one before bed and wakes up the next morning to have what he dreamt that night come true - just like the lady said. Bibot spends the next few weeks imagining himself as the richest man in the world in an attempt to use the fig to make his dream come true. In the end, his dog Marcel eats his last fig and he wakes up the next morning to discover that he and his dog have switched places.
In my opinion, this book was interesting but slightly unsettling. It left me feeling unsatisfied with the ending. Nonetheless, I do think it presents an important lesson on the consequences of being selfish and how we treat other people. In a classroom setting, this book could also easily supplement a lesson on bad behavior and how we should treat others.
In my opinion, this book was interesting but slightly unsettling. It left me feeling unsatisfied with the ending. Nonetheless, I do think it presents an important lesson on the consequences of being selfish and how we treat other people. In a classroom setting, this book could also easily supplement a lesson on bad behavior and how we should treat others.
October 7, 2019
Out of all the Chris Van Allsburg books I chose to do my review and reflection of his book called “The Sweetest Fig”. I chose this book for multiple reasons, one of them being because it was one of his that was easier to follow and the meaning behind it is important. It can also be used for many different teaching lessons as a teacher. The book is about a Dentist who was given two figs as a payment. He later realized that these figs will make his dreams come true. As he is trying to dream of being rich, he mistreats his dog, Marcel, who later eats the last fig. Marcel and his owner, the dentist, switch places. I would use this book to teach inference. I could have the students write about how they would respond and act about if they were the dog. Would they treat the dentist in a cruel way or treat him better since they know how it feels to be mistreated.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 409 reviews