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Grandpa Cacao: A Tale of Chocolate, from Farm to Family Hardcover – Picture Book, May 21, 2019

by Elizabeth Zunon (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 32 ratings
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This beautifully illustrated story connects past and present as a girl bakes a chocolate cake with her father and learns about her grandfather harvesting cacao beans in West Africa.

Chocolate is the perfect treat, everywhere!

As a little girl and her father bake her birthday cake together, Daddy tells the story of her Grandpa Cacao, a farmer from the Ivory Coast in West Africa. In a land where elephants roam and the air is hot and damp, Grandpa Cacao worked in his village to harvest cacao, the most important ingredient in chocolate. "Chocolate is a gift to you from Grandpa Cacao," Daddy says. "We can only enjoy chocolate treats thanks to farmers like him." Once the cake is baked, it's ready to eat, but this isn't her only birthday present. There's a special surprise waiting at the front door . . .

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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    3 - 6 years
  2. Print length
    40 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Lexile measure
    AD820L
  5. Dimensions
    10.25 x 0.35 x 10.35 inches
  6. Publisher
    Bloomsbury Children's Books
  7. Publication date
    May 21, 2019
  8. ISBN-10
    1681196409
  9. ISBN-13
    978-1681196404
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Evocative . . . sure to expand the minds of children, this is an engaging multicultural addition for a public library picture book collection.” ―School Library Journal, starred review

"Zunon, who based the story on her own childhood, uses a winsome blend of paint, collage and ghostly screen-printed figures that represent the faraway Grandpa Cacao--who appears in a buoyant surprise ending, just as the cake is ready." - New York Times Book Review

“Replete with sensory details, and two spreads of backmatter round out the informational content, including maps, history, and a cake recipe. Delectable treats plus family history make this a sweet story to share.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Gracefully intertwines the past and present.” ―Booklist

“Striking oil paint, collage, and screen-printed illustrations . . . point to the importance of traditions to those in the African diaspora when they settle in new places.” ―Horn Book Magazine

“Zunon conveys how scents and shared recipes can connect the past to the present.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Elizabeth Zunon's warm, bright illustrations provide a cheerful balance, but it's the ache of a parent's absence that most powerfully animates the book.” ―The New York Times Book Review on POEMS IN THE ATTIC

“This book will appeal to adults eager to impart an uplifting Third World human-interest story, but it is also sure to resonate with children who will simply love the curiosity, resilience and resourcefulness of this doughty African youth.” ―The Wall Street Journal on THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND

“The co-authors have collaborated with artist Elizabeth Zunon on a powerful, gorgeously illustrated children's book.” ―The Boston Globe on THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND

About the Author

Elizabeth Zunon was born in Albany, New York, and grew up in the Ivory Coast, West Africa. As a little girl, she loved to draw, paint, make up dances, and play dress-up in a household that was never devoid of chocolate. As she grew up, she didn't really change! Elizabeth now lives in Albany, where she explores a multicultural world through painting, silk-screening, collage, and pondering the endless possibilities of chocolate. Grandpa Cacao is her first authored-illustrated book, and a love letter to the grandfather she never knew.
www.lizzunon.com
@ElizabethZunon

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Children's Books (May 21, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1681196409
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1681196404
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 3 - 6 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ AD820L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.25 x 0.35 x 10.35 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 32 ratings

About the author

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Elizabeth Zunon

Elizabeth Zunon

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Elizabeth Zunon grew up in a hot, sunny, tropical country in West Africa called the Ivory Coast, where people speak French (and many other languages). Since her mother is American, she wanted to make sure that Elizabeth and her little brother could speak both French and English, so she read them a lot of bedtime stories in English after they came home from speaking French all day at school. As a little girl, Elizabeth loved to draw, paint, make up dances and play dress-up, and as she grew up, she didn't really change! Elizabeth went to art school in the United States and decided to focus on Children's Book Illustration. In school, she made a lot of paintings and books that were filled with images and memories of her childhood in the Ivory Coast. She still loves thinking about life there and drawing palm trees, tropical flowers, people in busy marketplaces, and days at the beach- especially since she now lives in Upstate New York, where it gets cold and snowy!

Some things you may not know about Elizabeth Zunon:

1) She has been known to break out in dance, mid-painting, around the living room, paintbrush in hand (when no one is looking, of course!)

2) Her secret wish is to be a ballerina.

3) She always buys a new paintbrush and a new paint color that she's never used before when starting a new project. It makes every painting even more exciting, and the new color adds something unexpected!

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
32 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

The Cultured Montessorian
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story and illustrations.
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
The media could not be loaded.
 My 5 year old loved this story. It sparked so many interesting conversations, and became the subject of a self-led research project.
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DJ
5.0 out of 5 stars We love this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2022
Verified Purchase
We love this book! Our kids ask to read it over and over.
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SCSA
5.0 out of 5 stars 2 great take aways
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2020
This book is gorgeous. It would be an equally good choice from anyone interested in cacao farming or in connecting with relatives in another country. There's a lot of good cacao information woven into the story without it seeming like a lecture. The way the child imagines how she might share characteristics with relatives she's never met is realistic and the way her imagined reenactments of their lives is depicted (flat white screen printing) is clever.
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Tasha Saecker
4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2019
A little girl and her Daddy are making her birthday cake, a chocolate one. As they bake the cake, her father tells her about Grandpa Cacao who lives in the Ivory Coast and has a cacao farm. The book looks at the importance of the right soil and weather to grow cacao as well as the skill to know when precisely to harvest the crop. The process of harvest and then scooping out the white beans, curing them in the ground, and then drying them is shown in detail. All the while, the girl and her father are baking together, the smell and taste of the chocolate bridging the two story lines. In the end, as the cake is finished, the little girl gets a special birthday treat.

Zunon’s picture book tells the important tale of where chocolate comes from and the fascinating process of going from farm to product that is not at all what one might expect. The framing of the chocolate farming process by a girl about to celebrate her birthday with a chocolate cake is lovely. It is strengthened even more by her family connection to the Ivory Coast and her grandfather’s farm. The treat at the end makes that even more firmly and tangible for readers.

The illustrations by the author are cleverly done. The little girl’s world is done in full color collages filled with rich touches of patterns and textures. The African farm is done in a more flat format with the people simply white outlines against the landscape. When the two worlds come together, they both become full color and lush.

Everyone loves chocolate and this book explains how it comes to our tables. Appropriate for ages 5-7.
3 people found this helpful
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ScotFlower
3.0 out of 5 stars Mixes baking a cake with history
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
The girl is baking a cake with her father and throughout that, they talk about how grandpa makes chocolate in Africa. The surprise gift for her birthday is her grandpa arriving at the door.

My only complaint is that... I wish they had covered how chocolate was made from the beans IN the text and not as an extra at the end of the book.
One person found this helpful
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