Author/Illustrator: Linda Lowery and Richard Keep/Janice Lee Porter
Plot Summary: Part picture book, part chapter book, this book lets us know why we have chocolate on earth today. Using some authentic Mayan vocabulary, a detailed and exciting story is presented about twin brothers, Kukulkan and Jaguar, accompanied by vivid, and often surreal, illustrations. Make sure to have some brownies or hot chocolate handy.
Comments: Although not as artfully arranged as some picture books, this is a nice alternative to a traditional chapter book. It would be a good choice for readers who still want to see pictures but wish to read only chapter books.
Extensions:
1. A great choice for a food extension. Bring in cacao beans and vanilla beans to show the origin of both items. Same powdered cacao to experience the bitter taste. Explain that is the butterfat and sugar that make it taste so good.
2. More food extensions. Bring in brownies or fudge, as well as mole sauce or other recipes using chocolate as as savory flavor. Have students sample each. Can also compare the taste of traditional, American hot chocolate to Mexican, spicy, hot chocolate.
Themes/keywords: Mayas, chocolate, Mexico folklore
Age/Reading Level: K-3; ATOS - 3.7; Follett - 3.7; Lexile - 490
Standards:
ELA4R2(through eighth grade) The student consistently reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents (approximately 1,000,000 words) each year. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and electronic material. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least three different literary forms and from at least five different writers.
ELA2R4 The student uses a variety of strategies to gain meaning from grade-level text.
ELA3R3 The student uses a variety of strategies to gain meaning from grade-level text.
Publisher's Info: Millbrook Press, Minneapolis, MN 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-8225-7545-0
ISBN-10: 0-8225-7545-0
Awards/Review Sources:
School Library Journal 03/01/09
Horn Book (Spring 2009)
Booklist (October 1, 2008 (Online))
Websites:
About the Mayan culture, click here.
About the cacao tree, click here.
Authors' website. They are married and have written over 50 books together. They live in Mexico.
Notes for Booktalk:
Notes and more websites at the back of the book.
Vocabulary: See glossary at the back of the book. Defines Mayan terms.
Comments