Chocolate is more than just the favorite flavor of millions of people. To some it borders on addiction; ask any “chocoholic.” The Aztecs and other ancient cultures used the cacao seeds as currency. The Maya offered chocolate to their gods. Chocolate was only known in liquid form until the mid–19th century. At some point it became a symbol of romantic love. Using accessible, even chatty language, Burleigh has undertaken to present a history of chocolate consumption along with detailed explanations of the chocolate-making process as it has evolved over the centuries. It is a story filled with fascinating facts and anecdotes, as it encompasses much of world history, from the age of exploration to modern times. It contains elements of ancient civilizations, religious ritual, conquest, slavery, social and economic class systems, intrigue, industrialization, ecological exploitation, and more. Information is presented clearly, and with reasonable objectivity, including both positive and negative aspects of past and present chocolate production processes. Copiously illustrated with photographs, diagrams, and paintings provided by the Field Museum of Chicago, the format is visually and graphically interesting and appealing. Text is presented in varying sizes, fonts, and colors, and at times overlays, is surrounded by, or is incorporated into the illustrative material. A glossary is included that defines or redefines most of the terms used in the text. A well-conceived and executed work on a subject of great interest. (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8109-5734-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2002
The author of Cod’s Tale (2001) again demonstrates a dab hand at recasting his adult work for a younger audience. Here the topic is salt, “the only rock eaten by human beings,” and, as he engrossingly demonstrates, “the object of wars and revolutions” throughout recorded history and before. Between his opening disquisition on its chemical composition and a closing timeline, he explores salt’s sources and methods of extraction, its worldwide economic influences from prehistoric domestication of animals to Gandhi’s Salt March, its many uses as a preservative and industrial product, its culinary and even, as the source for words like “salary” and “salad,” its linguistic history. Along with lucid maps and diagrams, Schindler supplies detailed, sometimes fanciful scenes to go along, finishing with a view of young folk chowing down on orders of French fries as ghostly figures from history look on. Some of Kurlansky’s claims are exaggerated (the Erie and other canals were built to transport more than just salt, for instance), and there are no leads to further resources, but this salutary (in more ways than one) micro-history will have young readers lifting their shakers in tribute. (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-399-23998-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2006
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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