The Chocolate Tree a Mayan folktale written by Linda Lowery and Richard Keep and illustrated by Janice Lee Porter. It draws on the rich history of the Mayan people and is somewhat of a “tall tale” about how crops get to Mexico.

Characters: Mayans, gods, goddesses.

Setting: Outdoors in ancient Mexico

Theme: Origins of food, gods and goddesses

Genre: Traditional Literature - Folklore

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Summary: The Chocolate tree has five sections to the story. Each section tells a portion of the entire tale of chocolate coming to Mexico. Kukulkán is a king and a god in Mexico. He rules the daytime and his brother, Night Jaguar, rules the night. Kukulkán wants to reward his loyal people and sets off on a journey to Paradise to find the right thing. He ends up asking the gods and goddesses of Paradise for a cacao tree but is denied. After everyone is asleep, he takes a tree under his arm and goes back to his people. Night Jaguar finds out and tells the gods and goddesses of Kukulkán’s misdeed. As punishment, Kukulkán can never return to Paradise. His people though, now have chocolate forever.

Audience: second through sixth grade

Curriculum ties: folklore, historical fiction, native American studies

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Personal response: I was interested in this book as I have been to the Yucatán, climbed to the top of Chichén Itzá, and love Mexican hot chocolate. I can see why Kukulkán wanted to reward his people with the cacao tree. I like how the story is told in chapters. For early readers, this sets the tone for chapter books in the future. The illustrations resemble much of the art found in Mexico, bright colors and soft edges. I am not sure if I like how Kukulkán stole the tree but appreciate his drive and sacrifice for his people. This would be a good book to introduce during Hispanic-American month. ( )