No Monkeys, No Chocolate

by Melissa Stewart, Allen Young, Nicole Wong (Illustrator)

Overview

Everyone loves chocolate, right? But how many people actually know where chocolate comes from? How it’s made? Or that monkeys do their part to help this delicious sweet exist?

This delectable dessert comes from cocoa beans, which grow on cocoa trees in tropical rain forests. But those trees couldn’t survive without the help of a menagerie of rain forest critters: a pollen-sucking midge, an aphid-munching anole lizard, brain-eating coffin fly maggots—they all pitch in to help the cocoa tree survive. 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.

Back matter includes information about cocoa farming and rain forest preservation, as well as an author’s note.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580892872
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	08/01/2013
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.30(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 150 science books for children. She holds degrees in biology and science journalism. Recent books include UNDER THE SNOW (Peachtree, 2009) and the A Place for series (Peachtree). She lives in Acton, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

The opening pages feature a birthday party and mention the joys of various types of chocolate. This leads into a series of things that contribute to the making of chocolate. Cocoa beans grow on farms and in tropical rain forests in Central and South America. They are the fruit of the cocoa tree and grow in lumpy pods surrounded by white, gooey pulp. Cocoa pods come from blossoms which are pollinated by midges. The leaves of the tree and the maggots that use them to lay eggs inside ants' heads are explained. The baby maggots eat the ants' brains. Lizards contribute by eating aphids from the stems. The roots of the cocoa tree and the fungi in the ground provide necessary nourishment. Cocoa pods do not naturally fall from trees. This is where the monkeys come in. They pick the pods and pull out the sticky insides tossing the seeds on the ground, thus planting the seeds for future trees. Two worms appear in the lower right hand corner of each page spread. They discuss the factual information and add humor. The end pages offer suggestions for help in saving the rain forests. The picture book format and whimsical title could mislead readers who may not be expecting so much detailed information about the life cycle of the cocoa bean. Also, now that cocoa trees are grown as a crop, the role of the monkeys is not as vital as implied. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D.

Children's Literature - Phyllis Kennemer

09/01/2013
Gr 4–6—Chocolate and monkeys may seem worlds apart, but as Stewart and Young point out in their clear text, it takes monkeys (and other critters) to scatter the cocoa beans (seeds) throughout the rain forest. Munching on the soft, tasty pulp lining the pods as they travel through the trees, the monkeys discard the not-so-tasty beans, scattering them indiscriminately. In a format slightly reminiscent of the old "This Is the House That Jack Built," the authors present a simply written look at a complex ecosystem encompassed by one tree's life cycle. Flowers, midges, leaves, maggots, ants, lizards, roots, and more all form parts of the process of producing the cocoa beans so essential to our candy bars and brownies. In a lighter note, two "bookworms" provide an amusing counterpoint in a tiny triangle at the bottom of the page. Wong's realistic watercolors stretch across the pages in warm cocoa browns and soft greens, with occasional splashes of rosy pink. Appended is a page pleading for more rain-forest preservation (not much mention of cocoa "plantations"), another with lists of things to do to make one's life "greener," and still another with an author's note on the origin and development of the book. For slightly older readers, a more traditional look may be found in Adrianna Morganelli's staid The Biography of Chocolate (Crabtree, 2006), but Stewart's book has more visual appeal (and then there are those monkeys…).—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

This clever circular tale with a curious title opens with a common scene: a party including chocolaty treats. The authors explain, "[Y]ou can't make chocolate without… / …cocoa beans." With the turn of the page, readers find themselves in the rain forest microhabitat of the cocoa tree. In each spread, the authors take children backward through the life cycle of the tree: pods, flowers, leaves, stems, roots and back to beans. The interdependence of plants and animals is introduced in the process: Midges carry pollen from one flower to another; aphids destroying tender stems are kept in check by an anole. Graceful ink-and-watercolor illustrations range from an expansive view of the rain forest to a close-up of aphids. Explanations are delivered in a simple manner that avoids terms such as pollination or germination. "Bookworm" commentators in the corner of each spread either reinforce the concept--"No lizards, no chocolate"--or echo youngsters' impatience: "I thought this book was supposed to be about monkeys." Indeed, the book closes with a monkey sitting in a branch with an open pod, eating the pulp and spitting out the beans, which fall to the ground and take root: no monkeys, no chocolate. Backmatter helps young naturalists understand why conservation and careful stewardship is important. Children--and more than a few adults--will find this educational you-are-there journey to the rain forest fascinating. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews