Magical candy is kind of a draw in children’s literature. Mr. Star Wars recently read The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop and let me borrow it when he finished. In the book, a family inherits a closed down chocolate shop with lots of magical secrets. It is my newest Charlie and the Chocolate Factory “read alike” book. Books that use food (particularly chocolate) as a central plot detail are a big hit with kids.
Mr. Star Wars and I tried to name all of the books we know that use food in some way. We came up with chapter books with candy, chapter books with non-traditional foods– like worms (!), picture books, an even some books that one food item steals a scene. I cut us off after we started on the picture book titles because there are just so many books we could list. What is your favorite book that will make your mouth water?
Candy (mostly chocolate)
- Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood
- The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
- The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
- Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
- The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling
- Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve
- Pie by Sarah Weeks
- A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
- This Book is Not Good For You by Pseudonymous Bosch (part of the Secret series)
- The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders
Gross (but hilarious)
- Beetles, Lightly Toasted by Phyllis R. Naylor
- Freckle Juice by Judy Blume
- How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
Picture Books
- Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
- Bone Soup by Cambria Evans
- Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
- Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
- The King’s Taster by Kenneth Oppel
- Strega Nona by Tommy dePaola
Scene Stealer
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (the peach home)
- The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards (soda fountain on the Jolly Boat)
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (Turkish delight)
- Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (molasses snow candy)
