Blue Frog: The Legend of Chocolate

by Dianne de Las Casas, Holly Stone-Barker (Illustrator)

A long, long time ago, the Sun God spent his days enjoying a very special secret treat: rich, dark cacao. Unlike the Wind God, the Sun God did not want to share this heavenly food with the creatures of the Earth. One day, the Wind God transformed himself into the Rana Azul, or Blue Frog, and he taught the children of the Earth where to find the secret cacao beans through song. A recipe for hot chocolate and a sprinkling of Spanish words and phrases enhance this intricately illustrated foodie fable.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Mythology, Folklore, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2011

About the author

Dianne de Las Casas was an award-winning author, storyteller, and founder of Picture Book Month. Her performances, dubbed “revved-up storytelling” were full of energetic audience participation. The author of 24 books, Dianne was the International Reading Association LEADER 2014 Poet Laureate, and the 2014 recipient of the Ann Martin Book Mark award. Her children’s titles include The Cajun Cornbread Boy, There’s a Dragon in the Library, The Little “Read” Hen, The House That Santa Built, and Cinderellaphant. She was also the mom of Kid Chef Eliana, a 14-year-old award-winning chef, cookbook author, and radio show host. Visit her website at diannedelascasas.com. Visit Picture Book Month at PictureBookMonth.com. Twitter & Instagram: @AuthorDianneDLC Facebook: fanofdianne

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE chocolate. I love that the recipe at the end of the book for Mexican hot cocoa is for the traditional, “accidentally vegan” version, even though this variation is not my personal favorite. Most kids who try it without the suggested variations are likely to be surprised by the flavor.

The illustrations are deliberately influenced by Mayan and Aztec art. They’re cut-paper and collage. They fit the tale well and I found them interesting, although they’re not all that aesthetically pleasing to me. I did like the colors, the people, especially their eyes & their facial expressions, and the frog, and the boldness and vividness of the illustrations and how they fill the page. The gods were kind of creepy and might scare some children if the story is not read with a lighthearted voice inflection.

According to the author’s note at the end, the book was actually inspired by a New Orleans chocolate store, Blue Frog Chocolates. The author and illustrator are from New Orleans and nearby Baton Rouge.

The story is definitely meant to be read aloud. It works well as a read aloud. I didn’t enjoy my silent reading all that much but when I went back and read it out loud, I thought it was great fun. I do love how many Spanish words and short phrases are mixed in with the mostly English language story, in such a way that their meaning is well understood.

I’m not sure why I didn’t love this one. It didn’t quite thrill me. I did enjoy it though, and I think kids who love folktales, myths and legends, and definitely chocolate, are likely to enjoy the book.

3 ½ stars

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an Aztec/Mayan myth about how chocolate came to the people. Originally it was the food of the Sun God alone, but the Wind God found out where the cacao tree was hidden and revealed the secret to the people. In fact, theobromine, the active ingredient in chocolate, translates to "food of the gods". I can agree with that! I just learned that you can get theobromine poisoning by overdosing on chocolate. You'd have to eat an awful lot though.

Holly Stone-Barker illustrates the story with collages of cut paper in the style of Aztec and Mayan art, which I actually don't care for but which is appropriate for the tale. Dianne de las Casas includes a recipe for Mexican hot chocolate, which includes a dash of chile powder, at the back of the book. I've always wanted to try that. This would be a great book to accompany a unit on the Aztec or Mayan cultures. Recommended.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The legend of the blue frog is a traditional Aztec folktale that seeks to explain the origin of chocolate. The Sun God loves the flavor of cacao beans, so much so that he keeps them hidden from the people of Earth. The Wind God felt that the Sun God should share this delicious food so he transformed into a blue frog and croaked and croaked so that the people of Earth would find the cacao beans...and today we call this delicious food, chocolate.

I love folktales, frogs, and chocolate; so this book was a winner all around. The illustrations are bright, the story flows, and the varied font styles assist the reader in reading this folktale aloud with expression.

[Jennifer Heise]

This picturebook depicts the story of how humans came have access to chocolate, according to Aztec legend-- the Sun god wanted to keep them all for himself/the gods, but the Wind god, disguised as a blue frog, told the people about the treasure of cacao.

First of all, it's great to have more diverse mythology books! This one is illustrated with bright colors and attractive shapes, and tells a story that kids would be interested in-- Chocolate! There's a certain amount of comparison with the story of Prometheus that comes to my mind, but I think that's a grown-up preoccupation. On the other hand, the Wind God in this story is actually Quetzalcoatl, who Europeans have heard conquistador stories about, so... The fact that this isn't brought up in the picture book is fine, actually, because it keeps the European tales out of it.

A fun little folktale book with a Central American origin and cool pictures.

[Meagan Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun read to learn about the legend of chocolate and how it was shared with us on Earth. This book can be beneficial in the classroom to use during a lesson on legends and Gods to teach the students the importance of sharing your things with others, rather than keeping it all to yourself. Not only will this help teach students about legends, but will also help them understand the importance of sharing.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this delightful book while I was researching picture books that could appeal to a 5th grade class related to their unit on the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. With unique illustrations by Holly Stone-Barker, Dianne de Las Casas brings the legend of how chocolate was discovered to life. The reader will learn bits of Spanish which makes the reading journey even more authentic.

[Maddie Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before reading this book I had no idea of this legend. I had never heard it before and after reading I thought it was very interesting. Kids love chocolate and this books tells them a legend of where chocolate comes from. I think this would be a perfect book to read for students in young or late elementary grades.

[Leigh]

Title: Blue Frog: The Legend of Chocolate
Author: Dianne de Las Casas
Illustrator: Holly Stone-Barker
Genre: Non-European Folktale, Picture Book,
Theme(s): Animals, Food, Gods, Mexico, Anthropomorphism
Opening line/sentence: (Sun God smiled as he looked at su tesoro, his treasure, on the banks of the Great Pond.
Brief Book Summary: This book is about a greedy Sun God who doesn’t want to share his cacao pods with the people of the Earth. Wind God, who believes the Earth’s people deserve to enjoy the cacao treasure, transforms into a blue frog to warn the people of the Sun God’s hidden food. In the end, the people of the Earth discover where Sun God keeps his stash of cacao, and end up cultivating and growing cacao trees.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2—The Sun God loves his cacao tree; every day he eats the beans out of the pods, enjoying the chocolate flavor. When the Wind God suggests that he share this treasure with the people of Earth, the greedy Sun God refuses ("The cacao is not meant for humans!"). The Wind God transforms himself into a blue frog and goes off to tell a group of children about the delectable treat; the children, in turn, spread the word about the Sun God's secret delicacy. Inspired by Aztec and Mayan art, Stone-Barker's bright, cut-paper, collage illustrations bring this folktale to life. The changing text sizes, fonts, and colors add to the art, and onomatopoeia helps the story flow with imagination. Spanish words are sprinkled throughout the text, placing the tale solidly in the Mexican culture. This is a picture book with a high-interest subject and plenty of storytime appeal. An author's note and recipe for Mexican hot cocoa are included.—Lora Van Marel, Orland Park Public Library, IL
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: de Las Casas, Dianne Blue Frog: The Legend of Chocolate 32 pp. Pelican 2011. ISBN 978-1-4556-1459-2 (4) K-3 Illustrated by Holly Stone-Barker. According to Aztec legend, when Sun God refuses to share his chocolate, Wind God turns himself into a blue frog to tell people the secret of the cocoa bean. De Las Casas's retelling is accessible but stilted due to awkwardly incorporated Spanish-language phrases (repeated in English). The cut-paper illustrations, while unfinished-looking, have some appeal. A recipe for Mexican hot cocoa is appended.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I specifically loved the School Library Journal’s recommendation for mentioning the changing text size, fonts, and colors throughout this piece. I completely agree that the bright colors used on every page brought this story to life. I also agree with the Pelican response how the unfinished nature of the illustrations draws readers in.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The friendly looking characters and vibrant illustrations in this book immediately caught my attention. The changing font size and colors throughout this text have a very large impact on this story, making certain parts more dramatic and prominent. The changing layout of each page, and the varying size of each illustration truly made this piece very eye-catching.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I think this book would be appropriate in a 1st grade-5th grade setting. I would definitely use this book as an introduction to a unit focusing on Mayan and Aztec culture. It could even be used in a unit about different cultures around the world, with its incorporation of Spanish elements sporadically mixed into the text.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was an okay book to read. I wasn't a huge fan of the paper art. It was okay, I guess, but I've seen better that I like. Some of the textures were cool.
The story was a little bland, simplistic, and a bit rough, but I think we got the gist of the Aztec legend.
I think the coolest part of this book was that the page numbers were done using the Aztec numbering system. This prompted my son and I to research Aztec numbering and inspired an impromptu project of writing out math problems using Aztec numbers. Very fun!
Another part my children enjoyed about the book was that at the end is a recipe for modernized Mexican hot cocoa using cocoa powder, chile powder, brown sugar, and vanilla. I'd recommend making it using milk. We made it using water with some added milk to cool it down, but it still tasted watery. The upside was that the flavor of the cocoa was emphasized without the creaminess of milk to soften it. My kids loved it and my son requested that I copy the recipe for my recipe book.
So while the book itself wasn't my most favorite, it served as a great springboard for other explorations, which I think is worth noting.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a version of the Aztec fable of how humans got chocolate. Moira was more taken with this than I was. She especially liked the hot chocolate recipe in the back, and showed it to everyone who came over for a couple of weeks.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something weird happens in the middle - a page is repeated. Throws off the whole story. I ended up clipping together a bunch of pages to make this work for storytime.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love, love, love the illustrations and thank goodness the secret food of the gods was discovered;-)

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story; very colorful, stylized paper collage artwork.