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Sweet!: The Delicious Story of Candy
Through time and across continents, stories of sweets and their inventors intrigue and entertain us. Learn about primal sweets — from honey, sweet milk, and nuts to sugar candy, chocolate, and “sweet” stories of success.
Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy takes us through history from 4,000 B.C., when islanders in Papua New Guinea cut sugarcane for its sap, and 2,600 B.C., when the first-known beekeepers produced honey to embalm the dead, to 500 A.D., when the Chinese made pear and plum syrups from unripe fruit, and all the way through to the world’s first chocoholics and modern-day candy factories.
From cravings to the scoop on ice cream, Ann Love and Jane Drake present a comprehensive and irresistible story of candy through the ages, complemented by a detailed timeline and playful illustrations from artist Claudia Dávila.
Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy takes us through history from 4,000 B.C., when islanders in Papua New Guinea cut sugarcane for its sap, and 2,600 B.C., when the first-known beekeepers produced honey to embalm the dead, to 500 A.D., when the Chinese made pear and plum syrups from unripe fruit, and all the way through to the world’s first chocoholics and modern-day candy factories.
From cravings to the scoop on ice cream, Ann Love and Jane Drake present a comprehensive and irresistible story of candy through the ages, complemented by a detailed timeline and playful illustrations from artist Claudia Dávila.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published March 13, 2007
1 person is currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Ann Love
53 books2 followersJane Drake and Ann Love are a sister writing duo. Together they have published 25 non-fiction titles for junior/intermediate students. Their first book to hit the bestseller list was The Kids Cottage Book published in 1992. Since then they have written many bestsellers and award winners including Cool Woods: A Trip Around the World's Boreal Forest (2003), The Kids Book of the Night Sky (2004), Snow Amazing: Cool Facts and Warm Tales (2004), and Trash Action: A Fresh Look at Garbage (2006), Sweet! The Delicious Story of Candy (2007), Alien Invaders: Species that Threaten Our World (2008). Ann and Jane have shared a lifelong love of the outdoors enjoying everything from snow shoeing, to camping, bird watching, tree planting and photography. They get along magnificently, except on the tennis court.
Ann lives near King, Ontario. She was a teacher librarian for many years but has retired to concentrate on writing. She is an accomplished artist, enjoying painting watercolors of the wild plants near her home. Ann stalks and patrols at least five bird feeders year round, often dropping the phone on her sister's ear to chase her cat away from the chickadees. Skookum, her pup, insists on several walks a day. Ann would love to visit India.
Ann lives near King, Ontario. She was a teacher librarian for many years but has retired to concentrate on writing. She is an accomplished artist, enjoying painting watercolors of the wild plants near her home. Ann stalks and patrols at least five bird feeders year round, often dropping the phone on her sister's ear to chase her cat away from the chickadees. Skookum, her pup, insists on several walks a day. Ann would love to visit India.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 8, 2020
This is a very interesting and nicely illustrated book about candy. Although it is full of delectable pictures, it also is full of information, perhaps too much for young readers to stay interested unless an adult reader chooses easier sections to share.
The story is divided into five sections: How Sweet It Is! - which has five parts; Primal Sweets - which has seven parts; Sugar Candy - which has eight parts; Chocolate - which has seven parts; Candy Magic - which has two parts; and Author's Note at the end of the book. A historical time line follows through along the page bottoms.
Wonderful story about the discovery, the secret, and the history of many different kinds of candy.
The story is divided into five sections: How Sweet It Is! - which has five parts; Primal Sweets - which has seven parts; Sugar Candy - which has eight parts; Chocolate - which has seven parts; Candy Magic - which has two parts; and Author's Note at the end of the book. A historical time line follows through along the page bottoms.
Wonderful story about the discovery, the secret, and the history of many different kinds of candy.
December 19, 2023
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I love reading about the history of candy making, and especially the histories of the companies like Hershey and Annabelles as they developed classic candy we love. Many are still being made, like Mallo Cups and Abba Zabba, with specialty shops popping up all over to provide that sweet trip to the past.
Sweet! wasn't what I expected. Maybe this will give a heads up to other candy history aficionados. It does cover different areas such as country preferences, a little history and how candy is made. It also covers some chocolate history, highlighting Hershey and a little on marketing.
But, I failed to notice this is a kid's book, for grades 4 to 6.
When I looked online at Amazon, I couldn't see this and if I purchased it, I would have been disappointed. I was actually disappointed anyway! It is a large sized 64 page hardcover picture book, and each section is about 2 pages long ~ lots of original illustrations with a few paragraphs of information. Great for kids, but it was Juvenile Literature. My mistake.
One interesting note, two pages feature a chocolatier in Vancouver named Daniel. How he began his business, uses the best ingredients, and is hugely popular. Interesting, but they fail to say his store name or where I can buy his chocolates! There was nothing in the author notes, but there was an acknowledgement on the front copyright page to le Chocolat Belge Ltee. I assume this is him!
Past books on the subject I have loved were Sweets: A History of Candy by Tim Richardson, which detailed a lot of the history of different candies, and of course, CandyFreak by Steve Almond, my top pick for anyone interested in vintage candy and the companies that make them.
I recommend each of these highly.
Just thought I would clarify for anyone looking into this subject. I didn't notice it listed as a kid's book and was surprised. A low rating through no fault of the book, just not of interest to me.
I love reading about the history of candy making, and especially the histories of the companies like Hershey and Annabelles as they developed classic candy we love. Many are still being made, like Mallo Cups and Abba Zabba, with specialty shops popping up all over to provide that sweet trip to the past.
Sweet! wasn't what I expected. Maybe this will give a heads up to other candy history aficionados. It does cover different areas such as country preferences, a little history and how candy is made. It also covers some chocolate history, highlighting Hershey and a little on marketing.
But, I failed to notice this is a kid's book, for grades 4 to 6.
When I looked online at Amazon, I couldn't see this and if I purchased it, I would have been disappointed. I was actually disappointed anyway! It is a large sized 64 page hardcover picture book, and each section is about 2 pages long ~ lots of original illustrations with a few paragraphs of information. Great for kids, but it was Juvenile Literature. My mistake.
One interesting note, two pages feature a chocolatier in Vancouver named Daniel. How he began his business, uses the best ingredients, and is hugely popular. Interesting, but they fail to say his store name or where I can buy his chocolates! There was nothing in the author notes, but there was an acknowledgement on the front copyright page to le Chocolat Belge Ltee. I assume this is him!
Past books on the subject I have loved were Sweets: A History of Candy by Tim Richardson, which detailed a lot of the history of different candies, and of course, CandyFreak by Steve Almond, my top pick for anyone interested in vintage candy and the companies that make them.
I recommend each of these highly.
Just thought I would clarify for anyone looking into this subject. I didn't notice it listed as a kid's book and was surprised. A low rating through no fault of the book, just not of interest to me.
September 26, 2008
You can read my review here.
July 27, 2016
Brief history and explanations of sweets and treats throughout history.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews