The story of chocolate

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Buy this book at Usborne Books and More or in local bookstores.

Quicklinks

Click on the links to visit the recommended websites.

Websites to visit

Watch a video clip about how chocolate is grown and prepared

Meet Joseph the turtle and find out about the cacao tree

More about chocolate, where it comes from and how it's made
Watch the introduction, then click on Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 in the menu on the right.

Find fun facts about chocolate

Take an online challenge about the making of chocolate
Place each step of how chocolate is made in the right order. (Click on "View this Interactive Content" then click on each page until you see "Start Game".)

Birds like cocoa trees too!
Shade in a picture of a bird on a cocoa farm. (Scroll down to "Birds and Chocolate", then click on "Print picture".)

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About this book

Young Reading Series 1
The story of chocolate

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.

View sample pages from this book.

See the other books in this series.

Katie Daynes

Katie Daynes has written oodles of books for Usborne, from lifting the flaps on germs and poo, through things to spot in the sea and at school, to the life stories of Nelson Mandela and Marie Antoinette. She wrote My First Chess Book after being taught by her son, Joe Birks, who became the British Under 9 Chess Champion in 2017. She now lives in Yorkshire with her architect husband, two inquisitive children and a hamster called Toffee. When she’s not writing books, Katie likes walking on the blustery moors, meeting friends for coffee and playing competitive board games.

Press Reviews

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

Reader Reviews

A Tasty Book
It is fascinating to read that the world's most popular treat has such a weird history. This book will take you from cocoa beans to Cadbury's, Lindt and Hershey's.
Ishita, 23rd May 2015

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