Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies [Paperback]

Erin Dionne (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 5, 2009 | Age Range: 9 - 11 years | Lexile Measure: 690L (What's this?)

Thirteen-year-old Celeste Harris is no string bean, but comfy sweatpants and a daily chocolate cookie suit her just fine. Her under-the-radar lifestyle could have continued too, if her aunt hadn?t entered her in the HuskyPeach Modeling Challenge. To get out of it, she?s forced to launch Operation Skinny Celeste?because, after all, a thin girl can?t be a fat model! What Celeste never imagined was that losing weight would help her gain a backbone . . . or that all she needed to shine was a spotlight.

A hilarious debut featuring friendship, family, mean girls and even celebrity crushes, Celeste?s story is a delicious treat that doesn?t add a pound.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When Celeste’s meddling aunt enters her in the Miss Husky Peach Pageant for “larger sized girls,” the eighth-grader quails at the thought of the teasing that’s sure to follow, though the idea of modeling has its appeal. Reasoning that if she loses enough weight, she’ll be ineligible for the contest, Celeste finds the motivation to skip snacks and even to exercise. Along the way, she begins to express her individuality through the unlikely vehicle of a beauty contest. Successes, flops, humiliations, and recoveries are all part of the pageant process, and even girls who don’t see themselves as potential models will enjoy Celeste’s account of her experiences. The wry first-person narrative also provides convincing views of middle-school friendships, family dynamics, and incremental personal growth. The ending may be a bit too rosy for absolute realism, but readers rooting for Celeste won’t complain. A light, well-paced first novel. Grades 6-8. --Carolyn Phelan

Review

It's a clever premise...engaging [scenes]...readers will warm to Celeste. --Kirkus Reviews

The wry, funny tone makes this book a pleasurable read, and teens of all body types will enjoy Celeste's original voice. --School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 9 - 11 years
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dial (February 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803732961
• ISBN-13: 978-0803732964
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars So that's why I'm not a model-Fun, quick read June 24, 2009

By Debbie's World of Books

Format:Paperback

I really enjoyed this book. Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for overweight young girls being as that was me in middle school and high school. I thought Dionne handled the weight issue very well showing that while eating healthy and exercising can help you lose weight what is really important is how you feel about yourself. Celeste was a loveable character who you have to feel sorry for as she is picked on by by the "popular" kids and abandoned by her best friend. This story was a nice mix of humor, discovering what is really important in friendships and most of all being confident in yourself no matter how you feel you may look.

36 of 43 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars SHOCKED by the good reviews here... November 18, 2011

By M. Pie

Format:Paperback

I am currently a fifth grade teacher and picked this book up because it seemed an interesting conversation piece for my girls, many of whom have serious issues with body image already. I was not at all pleased after reading it. Throughout the piece, the character Celeste is never empowered by her own wants, dreams and aspirations; instead, she is ignored and caves in to the taunting of her classmates, the wants of her family and the opinions of everyone else. Furthermore, characters like Lively are caricatures; they are way too wicked to be believable, for even the nastiest of bullies should have the slightest complexity in them that make readers sympathize with their behavior, even if they deem it wrong. Lively's behavior is flat out evil - no underlying insecurities, no problems at home to make her overcompensate with cruelty to others - she's just a creep who is inexplicably popular, and there is no other explanation for it. This just makes the characters seem stupid for listening to a single, solitary word she says, and her power as a bully weak and confusing. Bottom line - this book leaves the readers with several unsettling underlying messages. Fat is bad and something to conceal, change, or be ashamed of. If you are fat, you probably adhere to overweight stereotypes - you sit around eating too much, you hate sports and you dream of being thin enough for boys to like. I mean, forget about the fact that some overweight girls ARE athletic, have self confidence, and perhaps got that way for a medical reason - that couldn't be true. Meanwhile, thin/pretty/model material is good and something to be proud of. Once Celeste started losing weight, THAT'S when she started "finding" herself. Bullies may be mean, but they win, because their taunts have power over us. If your family wants you to do something badly enough, your opinion doesn't matter - grin, bear it, and do it, and forget about communication or your own free will. It doesn't matter how degraded, unappreciated or ignored you feel - let them throw in the words "opportunity" and "proud", jumble it into a topic that makes you most insecure, and close your mouth about it. These are awful messages to send to vulnerable young girls; I was hoping for something far more uplifting and empowering based upon the reviews and was very disappointed with what I read. With the exception of some humor in the writing, this book was a complete let down. I'm still looking for a book written for larger girls that actually shows them they don't have to cry and long for a day in the life of a thin girl; that, maybe, they can have insecurities like everyone else, but overpower them through some avenue OTHER than losing weight and being a beauty queen. This, most certainly, was not the book I was looking for, and I definitely wouldn't urge my students or my daughter to read it.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Munching down on a great book! December 21, 2009

By Jozy Sanlar

Format:Paperback

Talk about a good book! "Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies" is a novel that I will never forget. It combines the two problems that some girl teens may ponder about: if they are getting fat and facing the queen bee in school. Erin Dionne mixed together the plot perfectly, and I finished the book in a single day. I was unwilling to put it down. I would recommend this to all teenage girls around me.