Jacket flap blurb: When you think of chocolate, you might think of a candy bar, a birthday cake, or a glass of chocolate milk. But where does chocolate come from? Its main ingredient is actually the cocoa bean, which grows on cocoa trees in tropical rain forests. These trees can't survive without the help of the animals and other living things that share their habitat. The seeds, pods, flowers, leaves, stems and roots of the cocoa tree depend on organisms like the pollen-sucking midge, the aphid-munching anole, and ye, even the brain-eating coffin fly. In the rain forest every living thing has an important part of play. Even the monkeys.
The paperback edition of No Monkey, No Chocolate appears to be available even though it was published in 2018. [9781580892889].
Bookseller blurb: A secondary layer of text delves deeper into statements such as "Cocoa flowers can't bloom without cocoa leaves . . . and maggots," explaining the interdependence of the plants and animals in the tropical rain forests. Two wise-cracking bookworms appear on every page, adding humor and further commentary, making this book accessible to readers of different ages and reading levels.
The little book worms and their commentary on each page are why I added 'Breaking the Fourth Wall' to this book. "Is the cocoa pod like an ipod?" "Quit monkeying around I'm trying to concentrate."
Every school library should add science books by Melissa Stewart to their collection - all of her books are splendid and she has a fabulous and very practical web page. I previously talked about Thank you Moon, and Tree Hole Homes.
Melissa Stewart has always been fascinated by the natural world and enjoys sharing it with readers of all ages. She is the award-winning author of more than 100 books for young readers and has written more than 70 articles for children and adults. Trained as a scientist and a journalist, Melissa believes that nothing brings writing to life like firsthand research. While gathering information for her books, Melissa has explored tropical forests in Costa Rica, gone on safari in East Africa, and swum with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands. She can’t imagine any job she’d rather have!
Read more here. Kirkus gave this book a Star Review. There are even more details in this School Library Journal Review.
On a book forum this week someone asked for Easter books for their child aged 10. They specifically wanted Chapter Books but I just could not think of any to suggest. Instead I mentioned this book - The Talking Eggs - which is a long form picture book. I read this book to hundreds of Grades 4 and 5 students in my former school library but if I had seen No Monkeys, No Chocolate I would have also mentioned this even though it a non-fiction title it is so fascinating and I think a perfect addition to your Easter reading.
Take a look at this post about chocolate from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. Here are some other books about chocolate.
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