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Chocolate: The Consuming Passion
A New York Times bestseller with over a half-million copies in print, CHOCOLATE continues to delight chocoholics everywhere. Packed with Boynton's famous hippos, bunnies, pigs, and other animals, this gift-perfect book is a whimsical commentary on the individual's relationship to chocolate, its varieties, and its sources. From the several sorts of chocolate connoisseur-including the gourmoo, who eats only milk chocolate-to the several shapes of chocolate itself (bunny, kiss, glove compartment bar), Boynton's apologia for chocolate misses nothing. Myths are chocolate is not fattening, she argues, especially when the caloric expenditure of carrying it home from the store and hiding it from company is factored in. Directions are to remove stains, lick them. Plus, how to grow chocolate at home, a foolproof method for determining if chocolate is in season (does the name of the month contain the letter A, E, or U?), and a recipe for Hippo Pot de Mousse. "Fourteen out of ten people like chocolate," says the artist. This is the only guide for people who like chocolate the way they like to breathe. Vanilla people, keep out. Selection of the Literary Guild.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
8 people are currently reading
338 people want to read
About the author
Sandra Boynton
167 books1,125 followersSandra Keith Boynton is an American humorist, songwriter, director, music producer, children's author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated over eighty-five books for children and seven general audience books, as well as over four thousand greeting cards, and seven music albums. She has also designed calendars, wallpaper, bedding, stationery, paper goods, clothing, jewelry, and plush toys for various companies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
October 22, 2023
Everything you need to know about chocolate - and more ... The cutest and funniest chocolate book ever!
August 18, 2009
Lovely book - Boynton for grown-ups. I wonder if she would do a volume on single-malt scotch...
May 28, 2016
Lighthearted overview of chocolate. Wonderful sense of humor. If you like the two pages below, you'll like this book.
August 1, 2019
I have been an avid chocoholic and bookaholic for an awful long time now, and yet somehow, no one told me about this book. It wasn't until I was introduced to Sandra Boynton's cute series of board books as a parent that I somehow stumbled upon this book from her past. Apparently those cows and hippos have been around for quite a while now.
Of course, it was written before I was born, so I understand that most people probably aren't stumbling across it as much anymore, but I'm glad I did. Chocolate is fairly timeless, so the "dated" nature of it doesn't really detract from anything, though I do wonder how she would comically handle all the "% cacao" labels nowadays, which weren't really a thing back then.
This book uses comical cows, hippos, pigs, and other animals for illustrative purposes, as well as a dry sense of humor that doesn't take itself too seriously, to provide a brief overview of just about every aspect of chocolate, from the different kinds and forms it comes in, to where to purchase it and even how to make it. It humorously dispels all kinds of ridiculous myths about chocolate, such as "it's fattening," "bad for your complexion," etc. -- things that those of us who areaddicted to passionate about chocolate already know, but certainly don't mind the extra solidarity on.
It had me giggling fairly often, and while there were a few sections that weren't as funny as others, it was overall quite enjoyable -- it's a quick read, especially since the illustrations take up more room than the text. I had intended to savor it over several days, but ended up devouring most of it all in one sitting, which couldn't possibly be a metaphor for anything else...
Of course, it was written before I was born, so I understand that most people probably aren't stumbling across it as much anymore, but I'm glad I did. Chocolate is fairly timeless, so the "dated" nature of it doesn't really detract from anything, though I do wonder how she would comically handle all the "% cacao" labels nowadays, which weren't really a thing back then.
This book uses comical cows, hippos, pigs, and other animals for illustrative purposes, as well as a dry sense of humor that doesn't take itself too seriously, to provide a brief overview of just about every aspect of chocolate, from the different kinds and forms it comes in, to where to purchase it and even how to make it. It humorously dispels all kinds of ridiculous myths about chocolate, such as "it's fattening," "bad for your complexion," etc. -- things that those of us who are
It had me giggling fairly often, and while there were a few sections that weren't as funny as others, it was overall quite enjoyable -- it's a quick read, especially since the illustrations take up more room than the text. I had intended to savor it over several days, but ended up devouring most of it all in one sitting, which couldn't possibly be a metaphor for anything else...
January 17, 2010
This book combined my three most favorite things: books, chocolate, and sarcasm.
I like chocolate. In the way, as Sandra Boynton so elegantly says, that I like breathing. I probably have more than 10 kinds of chocolate in my house currently.
I believe this was Ms. Boynton’s first book. It is not necessarily geared towards kids at all, although I was about 10 when it was given to me. But I was very familiar with her from her greeting cards. Even though I hadn’t even opened the book in 15-25 years, I could still quote one line from the book. Regarding carob, it is considered to be a good substitute for chocolate because it is roughly the same color and texture. “However, the same arguments can as persuasively be made in favor of dirt.” Which was precisely my experience in my one unpleasant encounter with carob.
The writing is hilarious (even the footnotes and dedication), the illustrations are even better, and she does actually have legitimate research (I particularly liked the chapter on Your Body and Chocolate. The biorhythm chart was particularly amusing.) As for salvaging failed desserts, I really have used failed brownies as an ice cream topping. And a friend swears by the brownie recipe in here. I do disagree with her about how inferior chocolate ice cream is (she apparently is a fan of vanilla, whereas I do not see the point of vanilla.) This book is a great funny gift book for all ages, for everyone except those of jellybean sensibilities. Sadly, it is out of print. Workman should bring this back to life.
I like chocolate. In the way, as Sandra Boynton so elegantly says, that I like breathing. I probably have more than 10 kinds of chocolate in my house currently.
I believe this was Ms. Boynton’s first book. It is not necessarily geared towards kids at all, although I was about 10 when it was given to me. But I was very familiar with her from her greeting cards. Even though I hadn’t even opened the book in 15-25 years, I could still quote one line from the book. Regarding carob, it is considered to be a good substitute for chocolate because it is roughly the same color and texture. “However, the same arguments can as persuasively be made in favor of dirt.” Which was precisely my experience in my one unpleasant encounter with carob.
The writing is hilarious (even the footnotes and dedication), the illustrations are even better, and she does actually have legitimate research (I particularly liked the chapter on Your Body and Chocolate. The biorhythm chart was particularly amusing.) As for salvaging failed desserts, I really have used failed brownies as an ice cream topping. And a friend swears by the brownie recipe in here. I do disagree with her about how inferior chocolate ice cream is (she apparently is a fan of vanilla, whereas I do not see the point of vanilla.) This book is a great funny gift book for all ages, for everyone except those of jellybean sensibilities. Sadly, it is out of print. Workman should bring this back to life.
January 22, 2019
A very humorous mix of fact and silliness, with Boynton's signature cartoons of hippos, pigs, cats, and other animals.
December 27, 2015
The ever-delightful Sandra Boynton offers up an adorably illustrated revision of her 1982 Chocolate: The Consuming Passion, which if you've ever longed to see chocoholic hippopotomi plant cacao trees is just the book for you.
Boynton's tongue-in-cheek tone gives the text a silly, breezy air that matches her trademark illustrations, but it can occasionally make it difficult to discern what's meant to be a fact and what's pure tomfoolery. I'd actually been hoping for something a little more informational, and while I found Chocolate amusing, it quickly became clear that this is intended to be more of a simple gift-book than an actual primer of any kind.
As a person who serves chocolate more for others' benefit than her own, I'm far from the target audience of this cheeky little volume, but I'd strongly recommend it as a present for the chocoholic in your life.
Boynton's tongue-in-cheek tone gives the text a silly, breezy air that matches her trademark illustrations, but it can occasionally make it difficult to discern what's meant to be a fact and what's pure tomfoolery. I'd actually been hoping for something a little more informational, and while I found Chocolate amusing, it quickly became clear that this is intended to be more of a simple gift-book than an actual primer of any kind.
As a person who serves chocolate more for others' benefit than her own, I'm far from the target audience of this cheeky little volume, but I'd strongly recommend it as a present for the chocoholic in your life.
December 28, 2015
Such a sweet little book!
Covers about everything you want to know about your favorite sin. Many nice illustrations starring chocolate loving Hippos.
De gustibus non est disputandum!
______________________________
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Covers about everything you want to know about your favorite sin. Many nice illustrations starring chocolate loving Hippos.
De gustibus non est disputandum!
______________________________
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
May 3, 2019
I had this book as a kid in the '80s and literally read it so many times that it fell apart. It is such a humorous, detailed look at chocolate and at those of us who have a genuine love for all things chocolate. I'm a self-described chocoholic & have been since I was VERY young; my mother once knew I was deathly ill at 18mos old because I refused to eat my chocolate pudding (and she was right- I had a bad case of pneumonia and had to be hospitalized.) I do enjoy flavors other than chocolate, but I can't say there's any that I love and need in my life more than chocolate.
Reading this book again really took me down memory lane... I think I'll go find a piece of chocolate to eat now. 😁
Reading this book again really took me down memory lane... I think I'll go find a piece of chocolate to eat now. 😁
October 26, 2015
I love Sandra Boynton, I think her children's books with illustrations are witty and fun. I didn't love this book though. It was good, don't get me wrong. And I think her following will probably boost sales for it. But I didn't think it was that great.
I enjoyed all the illustrations as I always do.
I will probably try some of the chocolate recipes that were in the last chapter.
I enjoyed all the illustrations as I always do.
I will probably try some of the chocolate recipes that were in the last chapter.
February 25, 2025
I still have the original version of this, which Mom gave me when it was published in the early 80s. I asked her for this new edition for Christmas 2015. It's still utterly delightful. I'm glad she didn't need to update the chocolate-chip cookie recipe ("It is customary at this point to sample the batter.").
Re-read in 2018, 2022, 2025.
Re-read in 2018, 2022, 2025.
August 14, 2012
Had this book for years. Unfortunately, I can't remember anything about this book but I believe I gave it to chocaholic I worked with for years. She ate chocolate EVERY day and I thought this would be perfect for her.
March 9, 2009
The title says it all. This is a must-own for all chocolate lovers. Sandra Boynton is a sweet genius.
March 14, 2017
Sandra Boynton and Chocolate--a delightful combination. Such a fun read!
August 29, 2023
What can I say? The book says it all. The only thing lacking, was a free chocolate item to consume while reading and laughing my way through this handbook about chocolate.
October 6, 2020
I have always loved this cartoonist. It is a cute book about chocolate. It belonged to my mom’s friend! And if you love chocolate, you will love this book!
April 18, 2016
In this cute, quick book Sandra Boyton covers a bit of history, a bit of amateur psychology, a bit of culinary styles, and a couple of recipes all about chocolate. The book is very light hearted and has plenty of illustrations that are classic Boynton (like her classics Moo, Baa, La La La and The Going to Bed Book). The book debunks myths about chocolate and provides both shopping advice (grocery stores are not as fun or satisfying as a gourmet shop) and cooking tips (including advice on repurposing failed desserts). She also provides handy translations of the phrase "Excuse me, where is the nearest chocolate?" into eleven different languages, including Klingon and Pig Latin.
Highly recommended for a fun time!
Highly recommended for a fun time!
Sample quote: from the author's note at the back of the book...
So why did I decide to take on this difficult project [i.e. writing the book]? It was probably for a lot of noble and idealistic reasons. It certainly wasn't that I was somehow luted by the giddy prospect of being able to cliam all of my chocolate-related expenditures as actual business expenses. Oh, wait. Yes it was. [inside back cover]
November 20, 2016
Cute, amusing book about chocolate. I haven't really been that familiar with Boynton's work except occasionally seeing a book or product of hers every once in a while. But I saw this book and thought it was endearing.
It is what it says: a book about chocolate. As you can probably tell, it's not a deep, in-depth history. It's silly and amusing, accompanied by colorful and funny illustrations. There's some humor, some history, some interesting bits of trivia, some fact-checking, etc.
That's basically it. It's a short, amusing book that would be probably be a good gift at say a holiday work exchange for the office chocoholic or a fun, whimsical gift to add to a batch of chocolates for a gift basket to lighten someone's mood.
I wouldn't make a huge effort to seek it out on your own but as a gift or a library borrow (or a bargain buy).
It is what it says: a book about chocolate. As you can probably tell, it's not a deep, in-depth history. It's silly and amusing, accompanied by colorful and funny illustrations. There's some humor, some history, some interesting bits of trivia, some fact-checking, etc.
That's basically it. It's a short, amusing book that would be probably be a good gift at say a holiday work exchange for the office chocoholic or a fun, whimsical gift to add to a batch of chocolates for a gift basket to lighten someone's mood.
I wouldn't make a huge effort to seek it out on your own but as a gift or a library borrow (or a bargain buy).
November 1, 2013
Chocolate: The Consuming Passion written, illustrated and overresearched by Sandra Boynton.
A comic look at chocolate.
Bits of history, how it's grown, how various forms are made are interspaced with the types of chocolate and of the personalities who like various types. With recipes, advice about how to buy it and store it, and dispelling myths. The nutritional chart is immensely funny, once you notice what size portions are being compared.
There's also a page with a truly astounding array of five footnotes, the fifth of which is footnoted to the first.
Hilarious in many ways.
A comic look at chocolate.
Bits of history, how it's grown, how various forms are made are interspaced with the types of chocolate and of the personalities who like various types. With recipes, advice about how to buy it and store it, and dispelling myths. The nutritional chart is immensely funny, once you notice what size portions are being compared.
There's also a page with a truly astounding array of five footnotes, the fifth of which is footnoted to the first.
Hilarious in many ways.
November 2, 2015
Do yourself a favor and pick this book up to read a few pages (see if you can even stop at just a few!)
I wasn't sure what to expect from this beloved children's author writing what looks like a humor book on chocolate- which doesn't sound terribly original an idea does it?
Well this book is AWESOME! LAUGH OUT LOUD FUNNY, the text and illustrations work together to perfection.
AND this book actually does contain an insane amount of factual info on, well, chocolate!
The PERFECT gift for ALL chocolate-lovers EVER.
ALMOST as scrumptious as chocolate.
But not really.
But almost!
I wasn't sure what to expect from this beloved children's author writing what looks like a humor book on chocolate- which doesn't sound terribly original an idea does it?
Well this book is AWESOME! LAUGH OUT LOUD FUNNY, the text and illustrations work together to perfection.
AND this book actually does contain an insane amount of factual info on, well, chocolate!
The PERFECT gift for ALL chocolate-lovers EVER.
ALMOST as scrumptious as chocolate.
But not really.
But almost!
April 13, 2019
I love Sandra Boynton books for children so was delighted to find this one for adults. Since I also love chocolate it was especially fun to read Boynton's take on different types of chocolate, different preparation methods, the source of chocolate, different ways to love chocolate and those rare individuals who don't like chocolate.
One of her lines that stands out goes roughly like this "Chocolate has been compared to sex. It is said to offer the same benefits, but really who wants to go without chocolate to find out. "
One of her lines that stands out goes roughly like this "Chocolate has been compared to sex. It is said to offer the same benefits, but really who wants to go without chocolate to find out. "
June 7, 2008
My Mom bought this for my sister and I while on a long drive to North Carolina one year. I think we nearly drove her buggy by reading it aloud and laughing hysterically. The copy I have is falling apart from so many rereadings. It gets better every time I look at it. Definitely a must for the chocolate lover. Especially for, as Boynton says "the select millions who like chocolate in all its infinite variety, using 'like' as in 'I like to breathe.'"
April 10, 2012
While at B&N the other day buying a Sandra Boynton board book, the clerk told me about this book. She said - did you know that Sandra Boynton wrote a book for adults about chocolate? I did not know that, although, now that I've read it my life has been greatly enriched! Full of Boynton's wonderful drawings, this book is hilarious and made me feel entirely justified in indulging in some chocolate when I got home.
November 2, 2014
To gift!
I adored Boynton's children's books when my daughter was a toddler, and still have most of them memorized. I loved this book and how Boynton effortlessly tackled a very heated subject. Chocolate fanatics are a passionate bunch and this book manages to appease and entertain the lot of us.
I adored Boynton's children's books when my daughter was a toddler, and still have most of them memorized. I loved this book and how Boynton effortlessly tackled a very heated subject. Chocolate fanatics are a passionate bunch and this book manages to appease and entertain the lot of us.
October 3, 2015
Since my grandchildren have been born, Sandra Boynton has become one of my favorite children's authors. My current favorites are "Barnyard Dance" and "But Not the Hippopotamus". But she has also written a book for adults. Apparently this is an update of an earlier version. I love her somewhat off the wall humor and, of course, her wonderful illustrations. I also love chocolate.
February 8, 2018
I just picked this book up to start reading it. I chuckle every time I see the cover. I love that your "Free Book" label covers only the hippo's eyes. It's as if he's a member of CA (Chocoholics Anonymous).
Cute book! =) An entertaining look at chocolate and its pull on us. Yes, I am a chocoholic.
Cute book! =) An entertaining look at chocolate and its pull on us. Yes, I am a chocoholic.
March 18, 2019
I found this gem at an estate sale. I loved the book and laughted the entire time reading it! It explains the differences between the different types of chocolate... even the dreadful white chocolate. The book does contain recipes as well as how to grow your own cacao beans (expensive and time consuming). Even though it was written in the 80s, it still reigns true today.
May 16, 2011
I keep extra copies of this book on hand to give to friends, usually accompanied by something sweet! Filled with the humorous illustrations and writing that is Sandra Boynton's trademark, it's a funny little book that's great for anyone who loves CHOCOLATE.
November 25, 2013
First page states: "Research tells us that fourteen out of any ten individuals like chocolate."
This book is great. No. Its genius.
Its funny, sarcastic and absurd at times, but it also covers a lot of information about chocolate.
This book is great. No. Its genius.
Its funny, sarcastic and absurd at times, but it also covers a lot of information about chocolate.
April 26, 2014
I am a chocolate addict. I read this book during the 111 days I didn't eat chocolate. The only way I managed not to eat chocolate during these 111 days was by talking about chocolate every day, and reading/learning about chocolate. Sandra Boynton's is one of the books I read at the time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews