No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart illustrated by Nicole Wang

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.

Howard the average Gecko by Wendy Meddour illustrated by Carmen Saldaña

Howard is skilled with camouflage. He thinks he is SO special and unique. Of course this is not true. His boasting really annoys all the other rainforest creatures who are also terrific at camouflage. 

"But if I'm not the most camouflaged creature in the rainforest, then what am I? ... I can't just be average! ... Because who will love me if I'm just an average gecko?"

I'm sure you have guessed there is someone who will love Howard. Yes, it is a girl gecko - I love her purple skin. But wait - the ending is going to send your young reading companion into fits of giggles. There is a brief fact page at the back of the book with a simple explanation of camouflage. See inside this book here. Howard the average Gecko was published in 2021 and as far as I can see it is still available in paperback. If you read this book to your preschool group there is sure to be a lot to talk about in terms of talents, identity, love and of course the skill and purposes camouflage. 

Illustrations—rendered in watercolor, pencil, and digital—are cute and geometric yet rich, capturing the beautiful light and colors of the rainforest. Almost every page has hidden animals for young readers to find. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Children will especially enjoy pointing out camouflaged animals in this sweet and funny book. Kirkus

I picked up this book from the library I visit each week because I really do not like lizards and I am especially fearful of geckos due to a childhood incident where I watch one drop its tail as a defense mechanism and that piece of tail just kept flipping over and over - it was horrible. 

I have talked about other books by Wendy Meddour. 

Tisha and the Blossom

Lubna and Pebble

Here are some illustrated by Carmen Saldaña - she lives in Spain:

The Robin and the Reindeer

The Go-Away Bird by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Catherine Rayner

The Go-Away bird rejects every offer of friendship from her rain forest companions. 

"I am the Chit-Chit bird. Will you chat with me? We can talk of the weather and other things like the colour of eggs, the the ache in our wings."

"I'm the Peck-Peck bird. Will you eat with me? There are juicy berries on every twig. We can peck, peck til we both grow big."

The four potential friends are each rejected and then along comes a huge brown bird - the Get-You Bird. This huge bird will not go away simply because the Go-Away bird demands this. Luckily the rejected friends see the danger. They form a team and save the day. But what of the Go-Away bird? Her life has been saved - how will she react? How should she react? I love stories that contain a life lesson but not in a didactic way. With an older group you should take a look at Shelter which is a perfect book if you want to talk about rejection and forgiveness. 

Everything about this book is of the highest quality as you would expect from the team of Julia Donaldson and Catherine Rayner. Too many authors attempt rhyme and it just fails but rhyme in the hands of a master like Julia Donaldson can sing. In fact in this book the words do feel like a song. The rhyme is not used for every line and the repetition of "go away" is simply a perfect way to engage young children.  This is a book that should be added to preschool read aloud program.

Make sure you take time to notice the fern leaf pattern on the end papers which is repeated on the title page and then used in various ways throughout the book. 

This is a delightful story about the value of friends especially in times of need. Kids' Book Review

A lovely tale about needing time to oneself, but also the value of friendship and teamwork. Lovely. Rogan's Books

This is a stellar author/artist partnership. Julia’s witty, bouncy rhyming text is pure pleasure to read aloud and highly join-in-able; and Catherine’s art is simply awesome – richly coloured and textured, superbly expressive: every spread is a joy to linger over – after you’ve read the story aloud once first. Red Reading Hub

Companion reads:

The Bad Mood

Oddbird

Little Wise Wolf

Welcome

Elmore

Over and Under in the Rainforest by Kate Messner illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

"At the base of a bridge, an orb spider weaver her web - 

a golden tapestry that will catch moonlight and insects tonight."

It is so wonderful when you make new discoveries about our world and the animals who share our planet though a glorious picture book or in this case Picture Non Fiction. Take a look at this article "Criteria for selecting nonfiction picture books."

There are twenty animals from the rainforest in this large format book. I knew or had heard of creatures such as leaf-cutter ants; three toed sloth; giant anteater; howler monkey and the famous toucan. But here are the others that are new to me.  I am so glad Kate Messner included some facts at the back of her book which I have now used as a starting point to discover even more. Read more here.

Montezuma Otopendola - this is a bird with a very distinctive nest shaped like a droopy sack

Long-nosed Proboscis Bat - they roost in trees, all in a line

Blue Morphos are among the biggest butterflies in the world with a 20cm wingspan. 

Eyelash Palm Pitviper is a small viper measuring 22-32cm. The name comes from modified scales that look like eyelashes. This viper comes in different colours  - red, yellow, brown, green and even pink.

Rufous Motmot are easy to spot because Kate Messner explains, their tails look like tennis rackets.

This is the fourth book in the nature series by Kate Messner illustrated by Chistopher Silas Neal. Kate first visited the rainforest of Costa Rica when she was in third grade on a school excursion.  Doesn't that sound amazing. Then she went back in 2010 with her family and again in 2017 partly to research this book but also to see all of these special animals again.

Part outdoor adventure, part animal nonfiction book, this exciting blend will delight children interested in fact and fiction. Kirkus

Blurb: "Under the canopy of the rainforest, hundreds of animals make their homes - from the slender parrot snake to the blue morpho butterfly. But up in the leaves hides another world, where toucans and pale-billed woodpeckers chatter and call, capuchin monkeys swing from vines, and slow-moving sloths wait out daily thunderstorms. Discover the wonder that lies hidden among the roots, above the winding rivers, and under the emerald leaves of the rainforest."