Ron McGee's Blog - Posts Tagged "ryan-quinn"
Yum! Chocolate Around the World
When I go on a trip, I like to bring back a fun souvenir to remind me of the place that I’ve been. Some people collect post cards when they travel, others collect snow globes (my personal favorite!). Ryan Quinn collects chocolates. You might be surprised to know that chocolate isn’t the same all over the world. In fact, many countries have their own unique spin on the world’s favorite treat.
Mexico is considered the birthplace of chocolate. Over 500 years ago, the Aztecs would drink a hot beverage flavored with the seeds of the cacao plant. Today, hot cocoa is still a favorite way of enjoying chocolate in the country. Mexican chocolate is sold in the shape of discs, instead of bars, and melted in warm milk. They even add spices to the drink to enhance its flavor – from sweet vanilla to super-hot chili powder.
The cacao plant that gives chocolate its flavor grows best near the equator. So it’s no wonder that the plants from Ecuador (a country whose Spanish name actually means “equator”) produce some of the highest rated cacao. Ecuador grows over half of the world’s “Fine Aroma” cacao beans and sells them to fancy chocolate makers in over 40 countries.
Although far from the equator, Switzerland has a place in chocolate history as well. In the 1870s, the Swiss chocolatier Daniel Peter added powdered milk to chocolate and created the world’s first milk chocolate. Daniel Peter co-founded a company whose name you probably recognize – Nestlé! They still use milk chocolate in the popular candy bars they sell around the world, like Butterfinger, Kit-Kat, and Crunch.
One of the chocolates in Ryan Quinn’s collection is a treat from Japan called Pocky. Pocky is a box ofdelicious thin cookie sticks that are each dipped in milk chocolate. Although Pocky started out with only plain chocolate, it now comes dipped in all sorts of unusual flavors like strawberry, green tea, and even grape. I bet the Aztecs never dreamed their beloved cacao drink would one day lead to grape-flavored cookie sticks!
So the next time you go on a trip, take a moment to check out the candy aisle at a local market. Maybe you’ll discover something new and delicious that you can share with your friends (or favorite authors!) when you return home.
Mexico is considered the birthplace of chocolate. Over 500 years ago, the Aztecs would drink a hot beverage flavored with the seeds of the cacao plant. Today, hot cocoa is still a favorite way of enjoying chocolate in the country. Mexican chocolate is sold in the shape of discs, instead of bars, and melted in warm milk. They even add spices to the drink to enhance its flavor – from sweet vanilla to super-hot chili powder.
The cacao plant that gives chocolate its flavor grows best near the equator. So it’s no wonder that the plants from Ecuador (a country whose Spanish name actually means “equator”) produce some of the highest rated cacao. Ecuador grows over half of the world’s “Fine Aroma” cacao beans and sells them to fancy chocolate makers in over 40 countries.
Although far from the equator, Switzerland has a place in chocolate history as well. In the 1870s, the Swiss chocolatier Daniel Peter added powdered milk to chocolate and created the world’s first milk chocolate. Daniel Peter co-founded a company whose name you probably recognize – Nestlé! They still use milk chocolate in the popular candy bars they sell around the world, like Butterfinger, Kit-Kat, and Crunch.
One of the chocolates in Ryan Quinn’s collection is a treat from Japan called Pocky. Pocky is a box ofdelicious thin cookie sticks that are each dipped in milk chocolate. Although Pocky started out with only plain chocolate, it now comes dipped in all sorts of unusual flavors like strawberry, green tea, and even grape. I bet the Aztecs never dreamed their beloved cacao drink would one day lead to grape-flavored cookie sticks!
So the next time you go on a trip, take a moment to check out the candy aisle at a local market. Maybe you’ll discover something new and delicious that you can share with your friends (or favorite authors!) when you return home.
The Real Emergency Rescue Committee
While the adventures of Ryan Quinn and his friends come from my imagination, they were inspired by the real-life heroism of a group of people who came together to form the actual Emergency Rescue Committee. When I first heard about Varian Fry and this secret organization he was part of, I was struck by the courage it took to risk so much to help strangers.
Varian Fry was just a normal guy. He was an American journalist working in France right at the end of the 1930s. At that time, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany was imprisoning and killing anyone who threatened their total control – that included political rebels, creative artists, and minority groups, especially people of Jewish heritage. Varian Fry witnessed many Germans fleeing to safety in France during his time there. But soon, even France was no longer a safe place to hide. Those refugees needed to escape again – and they needed help.
The Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC) was founded to help people get out of Nazi-occupied France. But because the work they did was technically illegal, the group had to be kept secret. The ERC didn’t have the support of the government or any larger organization. It was just Varian Fry and a team of like-minded people who saw an injustice and decided to do something about it. There were men and women from all sorts of backgrounds: wealthy individuals who provided funding, people inside the government who forged documents, and those like Varian Fry himself who were actually on the ground in France, risking their lives to help strangers in need.
Varian Fry worked tirelessly with the ERC for 13 months as Hitler’s armies continued to conquer Europe. Eventually, the French and American authorities caught on to Fry’s illegal activities helping people escape and made him stop. He was forced to return to the United States. That meant the end of the Emergency Rescue Committee, but not before it had helped save over 2,000 people. Years later, when Varian Fry spoke about why he got involved against Nazi Germany, he said, "I could not remain idle as long as I had any chances at all of saving even a few of its intended victims."
Varian Fry was just a normal guy. He was an American journalist working in France right at the end of the 1930s. At that time, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany was imprisoning and killing anyone who threatened their total control – that included political rebels, creative artists, and minority groups, especially people of Jewish heritage. Varian Fry witnessed many Germans fleeing to safety in France during his time there. But soon, even France was no longer a safe place to hide. Those refugees needed to escape again – and they needed help.
The Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC) was founded to help people get out of Nazi-occupied France. But because the work they did was technically illegal, the group had to be kept secret. The ERC didn’t have the support of the government or any larger organization. It was just Varian Fry and a team of like-minded people who saw an injustice and decided to do something about it. There were men and women from all sorts of backgrounds: wealthy individuals who provided funding, people inside the government who forged documents, and those like Varian Fry himself who were actually on the ground in France, risking their lives to help strangers in need.
Varian Fry worked tirelessly with the ERC for 13 months as Hitler’s armies continued to conquer Europe. Eventually, the French and American authorities caught on to Fry’s illegal activities helping people escape and made him stop. He was forced to return to the United States. That meant the end of the Emergency Rescue Committee, but not before it had helped save over 2,000 people. Years later, when Varian Fry spoke about why he got involved against Nazi Germany, he said, "I could not remain idle as long as I had any chances at all of saving even a few of its intended victims."
New Trailer for Ryan Quinn and the Rebel's Escape
Check out the book trailer for Ryan Quinn and the Rebel's Escape here: https://youtu.be/iooxfZeZSLQ
