The Story of Chocolate

Description

The fascinating history of chocolate told for children just beginning to read. Follows the story of the world's most popular treat from its origins in the rainforests of Central America to shops and factories everywhere. Featuring the humorous illustrations of Adam Larkum. Usborne Young Reading has been developed with reading experts from Roehampton University.

Katie has been writing non-fiction children's books for almost half her life and loves questioning the world from a child's point of view. She's developed some of Usborne's bestselling series, including the See Inside books and Lift-the-flap Questions & Answers. When she's not writing, she likes drinking coffee, walking on the moors and playing competitive board games with her children.

Hard to judge a reading series by one book alone, but this title has all the right ingredients and even a recipe. Simple text is complemented by quirky cartoon-like artwork, while speech bubbles inject humour and help the story along. Usborne describes the books as "stories" for newly independent readers, but this one belongs more comfortably on the non-fiction shelf, tracing the origin of chocolate from the South American rainforest to the sweetshop. Mayan kings and priests liked their cocoa cold and frothy, but the Spanish, who learned of cocoa from the Aztecs, preferred theirs hot and sweet. * Books for Keeps *