A box of bonbons for confirmed chocophiles.
An expansive look at how cacao beans are grown and processed, with an overview of chocolate’s many uses, from early Mesoamerican medicine to modern fun-size Halloween treat.
Characterizing the cacao tree as a “Goldilocks plant,” Christensen begins with an exacting picture of the just-right environmental conditions it requires to prosper, then takes its fruit from harvest through fermentation and roasting. Though she only briefly acknowledges the crucial role added sugar plays in making finished chocolate palatable, she does offer the amusing observation that the main chemical that makes chocolate yummy, phenylethylamine, is also found in sauerkraut and kimchee. The author doesn’t shy from noting European colonialism’s dismal effects on Central and South American cultures, or its enduring legacy of enslaving and mistreating industrial workers. She remarks approvingly on recent efforts to grow cacao sustainably and, in pointedly nonjudgmental tones, to make synthetic chocolate. And, along with tasty tidbits about the place of chocolate in foods from churros and s’mores to Valentine’s Day candies (first marketed in heart-shaped boxes in 1861) and Hanukkah gelt, she tucks in an interview with a West African chocolatier and a made-from-scratch recipe for hot chocolate that starts with fermented whole beans. Human figures in Baum’s cartoon illustrations are typically depicted in a range of skin colors.
A box of bonbons for confirmed chocophiles. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781962351348
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gloo Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe.
An introduction to gravity.
The book opens with the most iconic demonstration of gravity, an apple falling. Throughout, Herz tackles both huge concepts—how gravity compresses atoms to form stars and how black holes pull all kinds of matter toward them—and more concrete ones: how gravity allows you to jump up and then come back down to the ground. Gravity narrates in spare yet lyrical verse, explaining how it creates planets and compresses atoms and comparing itself to a hug. “My embrace is tight enough that you don’t float like a balloon, but loose enough that you can run and leap and play.” Gravity personifies itself at times: “I am stubborn—the bigger things are, the harder I pull.” Beautiful illustrations depict swirling planets and black holes alongside racially diverse children playing, running, and jumping, all thanks to gravity. Thorough backmatter discusses how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity and explains Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. While at times Herz’s explanations may be a bit too technical for some readers, burgeoning scientists will be drawn in.
An in-depth and visually pleasing look at one of the most fundamental forces in the universe. (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: April 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668936849
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill.
Grown-ups may not be the only audience for this simple explanation of how algorithms work.
Taking a confused-looking hipster parent firmly in hand, a child first points to all the computers around the house (“Pro Tip: When dealing with grown-ups, don’t jump into the complicated stuff too fast. Start with something they already know”). Next, the child leads the adult outside to make and follow step-by-step directions for getting to the park, deciding which playground equipment to use, and finally walking home. Along the way, concepts like conditionals and variables come into play in street maps and diagrams, and a literal bug stands in for the sort that programmers will inevitably need to find and solve. The lesson culminates in an actual sample of very simple code with labels that unpack each instruction…plus a pop quiz to lay out a decision tree for crossing the street, because if “your grown-up can explain it, that shows they understand it!” That goes for kids, too—and though Spiro doesn’t take the logical next step and furnish leads to actual manuals, young (and not so young) fledgling coders will find plenty of good ones around, such as Get Coding! (2017), published by Candlewick, or Rachel Ziter’s Coding From Scratch (2018).
A lighthearted first look at an increasingly useful skill. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781623543181
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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