Former MA Legislator Kathleen Teahan Dishes on a Classic Treat in Her New Book, The Cookie Loved

Donald by Donald Hood

Published Thu, Aug 24th 2017, 13:36 | Careers


1888 Press Release - Whitman, Mass.-based book tells the real story of how the chocolate chip cookie became a beloved icon during the Great Depression.

Whitman, Mass. – A few simple ingredients were all it took to create the chocolate chip cookie, the quintessential American treat that not only took hold of the citizens of its birthplace, Whitman, Mass., but the rest of the country before deliciously expanding around the globe. In her new juvenile historical fiction book, The Cookie Loved ‘Round the World: The Story of the Chocolate Chip Cookie, Kathleen Teahan tells the tale of how it happened.

As Teahan explains, it all began in 1937 in the midst of the Great Depression. According to what Whitman residents have heard, one fateful day in the kitchen of the Toll House Restaurant, owner Ruth Wakefield was forced to improvise when faced with a shortage of walnuts needed to bake a Butter Do Drop cookie for a wedding. As a substitute, Wakefield added chunks of Nestlé semisweet chocolate to the cookie dough. And an American legend was born.

Playfully illustrated by Larisa Hart, The Cookie Loved ‘Round the World shares the mouth-watering results of Ruth’s experiment, which quickly became the restaurant’s signature cookie, her collaboration with Nestlé, and how the dessert became the official cookie of Massachusetts. But it is also a tale about hard work, determination, and positivity.

“During college, I had the privilege of working at the Toll House Restaurant as a summer job and saw firsthand the huge impact the little cookie had on so many people,” said Teahan. “I hope The Cookie Loved ‘Round the World inspires youth to follow their dreams, just as Ruth Wakefield kept her vision alive when she transformed a common butter cookie into an international icon loved around the world.”

The Cookie Loved ‘Round the World is available through all major bookstores and in ebook format, including on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and http://www.SDPPublishingSolutions.com. Teahan will donate a portion of the proceeds from the book’s sales to fight world hunger.

About the Author
Kathleen Teahan is a retired English teacher at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School and the Gordon Mitchell Middle School in East Bridgewater, Mass., and a former Massachusetts state legislator who worked for justice, equal rights, quality education for all, and improved health (especially oral health). She served on the Whitman School Committee for six years and has also volunteered in classrooms, food programs, scholarship committees, and several outreach programs, including Habitat for Humanity. Her goal is to leave a better world for her grandchildren and children throughout the world.

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