Snack: Chompo Bar
Reference: A Birthday for Frances by Russell Hoban [Harper & Row, 1968]
“Chompo Bars have a soft nougat part inside, and there is a chewy caramel part around that, and the outside is chocolate with nuts.”
Although ambivalent about her little sister’s upcoming birthday, Frances uses her allowance to buy her a Chompo bar and four bubblegum balls. During the walk home from the sweet shop, Frances becomes increasingly obsessed with the Chompo bar, a soft log that becomes more and more desirable to both Frances and reader. It didn’t even matter that it just looked like a soggy log, it was suddenly the most mouth-wateringly delectable food product ever invented. And I couldn’t have one because Chompo Bars didn’t even really exist. Frances pops the bubblegum balls in her mouth and squeezes the Chompo bar harder and harder in her hot little paw. Even as the Chompo gets soggier and squishier, it never loses its desirability.
