45 books like The Chocolate Touch

By Patrick Skene Catling, Margo Apple (illustrator),

Here are 45 books that The Chocolate Touch fans have personally recommended if you like The Chocolate Touch. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Karen Conti Author Of Killing Time with John Wayne Gacy: Defending America's Most Evil Serial Killer on Death Row

From my list on books for law lovers, fairness fighters, and true crime connoisseurs.

Why am I passionate about this?

From a young age, I read and watched everything about the Jack the Rippers, Black Dahlias, and Ted Bundys of the world. I think humans are fascinated by these killers, the worst of the worst, in the same way we are drawn to the best of the best. We want to know what makes them tick. One of the reasons I became a lawyer is at a young age I wanted to be a part of making sure justice is done—for everyone, regardless of their societal status. An empathetic person, I wanted to help others, even those who made horrific life choices. The law, true crime, and fighting for fairness are my passions!

Karen's book list on books for law lovers, fairness fighters, and true crime connoisseurs

Karen Conti Why did Karen love this book?

I have probably read this book five times as a kid and three more times as an adult, and every time, I take away another life lesson.

As a kid, you are caught up in the story of Charlie going through the whimsical world of Willy Wonka, with its magical wonders of candy making.

But as an adult you see the other story—the story of Charlie, the underdog who grows up in a home impoverished financially but not emotionally or morally. He succeeds in winning it all in the end due to his respectfully showing self-restraint and honoring his high standards of what is right and wrong.  

By Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A splendiferous new hardback of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, part of a collection of truly delumptious classic Roald Dahl titles with stylish jackets over surprise printed colour cases, and exquisite endpaper designs.

Mr Willy Wonka is the most extraordinary chocolate maker in the world.
And do you know who Charlie is? Charlie Bucket is the hero. The other children in this book are nasty little beasts, called: Augustus Gloop - a great big greedy nincompoop; Veruca Salt - a spoiled brat; Violet Beauregarde - a repulsive little gum-chewer; Mike Teavee - a boy who only watches television.
Clutching their…


Book cover of Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier

Marc Remus Author Of The Chocolate Clouds

From my list on chocolate.

Why am I passionate about this?

Who doesn’t love chocolate? This is what I ask myself very often. Being an award-winning children’s book author with a passion for chocolate and sweets, I began to wonder how healthy my lifestyle really is. With the death of an overweight friend of mine and many people around me with weight issues, I felt it was time to write a book about food choices for kids.

Marc's book list on chocolate

Marc Remus Why did Marc love this book?

This impressive biography of Mr. Milton Hershey shows the obstacles he had to overcome to build the famous Hershey’s empire. The book describes the stony path Mr. Hershey took to become America’s favorite chocolate producer. This book not only has tremendous educational value but also gives you a sense of what life was like around 1900.

By M.M. Eboch, Meryl Learnihan Henderson (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Milton Hershey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Did you know that the man behind Hershey's chocolate used to work in an ice cream parlor? Or that he had to try over and over again to get his now-famous chocolate to taste as delicious as it does today? Milton Hershey's life wasn't always a bowl of chocolate Kisses. When he was in fourth grade, he even had to drop out of school and work to help his poor family make ends meet. Read all about how the man we know as the famous young chocolatier finally struck it rich -- in money, love, and chocolate!


Book cover of Lilly's Chocolate Heart

Marc Remus Author Of The Chocolate Clouds

From my list on chocolate.

Why am I passionate about this?

Who doesn’t love chocolate? This is what I ask myself very often. Being an award-winning children’s book author with a passion for chocolate and sweets, I began to wonder how healthy my lifestyle really is. With the death of an overweight friend of mine and many people around me with weight issues, I felt it was time to write a book about food choices for kids.

Marc's book list on chocolate

Marc Remus Why did Marc love this book?

A little mouse is trying to hide its red-foil-wrapped chocolate heart, but every hiding place she finds is not safe enough for her standards. Eventually, she puts it in her mouth and eats it. Now it’s safe! This delightful picture book for preschoolers makes me smile each time I read it. The illustrations are simplistic and beautiful. They fit perfectly to the text. 

By Kevin Henkes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lilly's Chocolate Heart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Lilly loves her chocolate heart. Will she save it? Forever and ever? What do you think?

This sweet and simple board book for the youngest readers features Lilly, star of the Kevin Henkes classic Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse.

The charming board books featuring favorite preschool characters from Kevin Henkes are:

Julius's Candy Corn Lilly's Chocolate Heart Owen's Marshmallow Chick Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star

All five are also available together in a collection: A Box of Treats.


Book cover of Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake

Marc Remus Author Of The Chocolate Clouds

From my list on chocolate.

Why am I passionate about this?

Who doesn’t love chocolate? This is what I ask myself very often. Being an award-winning children’s book author with a passion for chocolate and sweets, I began to wonder how healthy my lifestyle really is. With the death of an overweight friend of mine and many people around me with weight issues, I felt it was time to write a book about food choices for kids.

Marc's book list on chocolate

Marc Remus Why did Marc love this book?

This is a hilariously funny book for children ages 3 – 5 about a bunny girl who discovers chocolate cake. Besides being an entertaining story, valuable life lessons about food are woven into the plot. This gives the book a deeper layer that can be enjoyed by parents as well. The illustrations are endearing and well-suited for this age group.

By Michael Kaplan, Stephane Jorisch (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

Betty Bunny is the youngest in her family of rabbits, and she's just discovering the important things in life, like chocolate cake. She declares, "I am going to marry chocolate cake," and takes a piece to school with her in her pocket. Mum values healthy eating and tells Betty Bunny she needs patience when it comes to dessert. But Betty Bunny doesn't want patience, she wants chocolate cake! In this funny tribute to chocolate lovers (and picky eaters), Betty Bunny's charming perspective on patience will be recognisable to anyone with a pre-schooler in their life.


Book cover of No Monkeys, No Chocolate

Marta Magellan Author Of Python Catchers: Saving the Everglades

From my list on picture books about wildlife.

Why am I passionate about this?

My love for wildlife has produced several award-winning nonfiction books about animals for children (bats, lizards, dragonflies, hummingbirds, and more). To observe wildlife, I travel often to wild areas, such as the Amazon, Galapagos Island, the Pantanal. A former full professor at Miami Dade College, I taught Creative Writing, English Composition, and Survey of Children’s Literature and was an adviser to the college’s award-winning literary magazine. My children’s nonfiction picture books about wild animals have won several awards: Silver Eureka for nonfiction, Silver Nautilus, two Bronze Florida Book Awards, and a Purple Dragonfly honor. Born in Brazil, I have lived in Miami for most of my life.

Marta's book list on picture books about wildlife

Marta Magellan Why did Marta love this book?

Who doesn’t like chocolate? No Monkeys, No Chocolates explains to the reader how we lucky humans ended up with what has to be one of the most popular treats in the world. Although the author writes about the entire process, starting with cocoa beans and ending with trees, wildlife plays an important part in our final chocolate treats, hence, the title. Midges, anoles, maggots, lizards, and of course, monkeys all play a part in getting the cocoa beans to grow, pollinate, and become new trees. One part of the book is straight nonfiction with serious explanations about the process, but illustrations of bookworms on the bent corner of the book give it that bit of metafiction to delight the younger readers who may not want to sit through every word.

By Melissa Stewart, Allen Young, Nicole Wong (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked No Monkeys, No Chocolate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Everyone loves chocolate, right? But how many people actually know where chocolate comes from? How it’s made? Or that monkeys do their part to help this delicious sweet exist?

This delectable dessert comes from cocoa beans, which grow on cocoa trees in tropical rain forests. But those trees couldn’t survive without the help of a menagerie of rain forest critters: a pollen-sucking midge, an aphid-munching anole lizard, brain-eating coffin fly maggots—they all pitch in to help the cocoa tree survive. A secondary layer of text delves deeper into statements such as "Cocoa flowers can’t bloom without cocoa leaves . .…


Book cover of The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart

Cori Cooper Author Of Bake Believe

From my list on baking magic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer that absolutely loves baking! There’s just something about taking commonplace ingredients and creating something extraordinary.  I’m amazed at the way food brings people together and lifts them up. That’s why I am so captivated by stories that include cooking or baking. All the better if there’s a strong family theme and an element or two of magic. I included books on my list that do these things really well, and relate to my own Bake Believe trilogy. Try not to get too hungry while you read!

Cori's book list on baking magic

Cori Cooper Why did Cori love this book?

Aventurine is so tired of being cooped up in the cave all day. The rest of her family thinks she’s too young to venture out, but she’s convinced she can handle the world. When she sneaks away to prove it, she’s tricked into drinking hot chocolate that turns her from a dragon into a human! She works her way to the village chocolate shop and earns an apprenticeship there, making lots of new friends, and some enemies, along the way. Aventurine discovers a deep love for chocolate, for how it can affect the way people feel, and realizes she’s been wrong about a lot of things. This story was so unexpectedly wonderful, I couldn’t put it down. 

By Stephanie Burgis,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Aventurine is the fiercest, bravest kind of dragon, and she's ready to prove it to her family by leaving the safety of their mountain cave and capturing the most dangerous prey of all: a human.

But when the human she captures tricks her into drinking enchanted hot chocolate, she finds herself transformed into a puny human girl with tiny blunt teeth, no fire, and not one single claw. She's still the fiercest creature in these mountains though - and now she's found her true passion: chocolate! All she has to do is walk on two feet to the human city,…


Book cover of The True History of Chocolate

Deborah Toner Author Of Alcohol and Nationhood in Nineteenth-Century Mexico

From my list on the history of food in Latin America.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a social and cultural historian of North America and Latin America, specializing in the history of alcohol, food, and identity. When I’m not researching, writing, or teaching about food history, I’m generally cooking, eating or thinking about food, perusing recipe books, or watching cookery programs on TV. I have been especially fascinated by all things Mexico since I read Bernal Díaz’s A True History of the Conquest of New Spain as a teenager, and I think Mexican cuisine is the best in the world. 

Deborah's book list on the history of food in Latin America

Deborah Toner Why did Deborah love this book?

Chocolate is one of hundreds of foods that originated in the Americas and became globally important following the onset of European colonization in the sixteenth century. One of the best things about this book is that it devotes as much space to the story of chocolate’s importance in Maya, Aztec, and other Indigenous societies before colonization as to the global transformations that happened subsequently. As an avid cook, I loved the vivid reconstruction of varied historical recipes for preparing beverage chocolate. Plus, the story of how the book was written – I won’t spoil that – that you’ll find in the preface, is a beautiful testament to scholarly labors of love, and to love itself. 

By Sophie D. Coe, Michael D. Coe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The True History of Chocolate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Chocolate - 'the food of the Gods' - has had a long and eventful history. Its story is expertly told here by the doyen of Maya studies, Michael Coe, and his late wife, Sophie. The book begins 3,000 years ago in the Mexican jungles and goes on to draw on aspects of archaeology, botany and socio-economics. Used as currency and traded by the Aztecs, chocolate arrived in Europe via the conquistadors, and was soon a favourite drink with aristocrats. By the 19th century and industrialization, chocolate became a food for the masses - until its revival in our own time…


Book cover of Love Monster and the Last Chocolate

Brandi Dougherty Author Of The Littlest Valentine

From my list on spreading love on Valentine’s Day.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a New York Times Bestselling author of more than twenty children’s picture books and chapter books as well as a mom to two young kids. Nothing fills me with more joy than reading to children and witnessing how a story can open up their hearts and minds. And Valentine’s Day is a holiday that brings me extra joy because it’s all about spreading love and friendship. I love Valentine’s Day so much that I’ve written two picture books about it!

Brandi's book list on spreading love on Valentine’s Day

Brandi Dougherty Why did Brandi love this book?

My kids never get tired of hearing this story! Love Monster is an adorable hero who faces a bit of a struggle when he discovers a box of chocolates waiting on his doorstep. At first, he wants to keep the yummy treats all to himself. But then his heart gets this squeezy feeling and he decides to share them with his friends. Little does he know, but Love Monster’s friends have a surprise waiting for him! This story is a great lesson in not jumping to conclusions, and in keeping your heart open. 

By Rachel Bright,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love Monster and the Last Chocolate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 2, 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

A deliciously funny story featuring Love Monster, who now appears in his own animated television show on CBeebies!

When Love Monster finds a mystery box of chocolates at his door, he can't believe his luck. But he's soon thrown into a whirlwind of turmoil. Should he keep the chocolates for himself? Or risk the perils of sharing his good fortune with his friends?

This super-funny-rumbly-tummy-sherbert-explosion of a story shows that when faced with the selection box of life, following your heart will bring you the best treats of all.


Book cover of Chocolat

Jaclyn Reding Author Of The Second Chance

From my list on finding a new way in the crossroads of life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find myself drawn to stories about second chances and starting over because I find that, as a reader, I feel empowered whenever a character I have come to care about rises above their circumstances. I've always been drawn to characters who overcome, who find their own way in difficult times, and who do so with honor and integrity, especially when faced with adversaries who may be bigoted, self-absorbed, or even dangerous. I am drawn more to historical or exotic settings or even quirky everyday places, but I love writers who create almost an additional character with their sense of setting, giving it its own personality.

Jaclyn's book list on finding a new way in the crossroads of life

Jaclyn Reding Why did Jaclyn love this book?

This book is a beautiful tale that demonstrates the ugliness of first impressions when it comes to viewing others. When Vivienne is looked down upon by the local mayor for being a single mother and nomadic traveler, he is making assumptions based on his own narrow-minded authority. 

I love how, despite his attempts to harm her financially, she continues to show how being an individual who is true to oneself means more than trying to fit the mold of what someone else might think you should be. 

By Joanne Harris,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Chocolat as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Even before it was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, Chocolat entranced readers with its mix of hedonism, whimsy, and, of course, chocolate.

In tiny Lansquenet, where nothing much has changed in a hundred years, beautiful newcomer Vianne Rocher and her exquisite chocolate shop arrive and instantly begin to play havoc with Lenten vows.

Each box of luscious bonbons comes with a free gift: Vianne's uncanny perception of its buyer's private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them. Is she a witch?

Soon the parish no longer cares, as it abandons itself to temptation,…


Book cover of The Chocolate Thief

Amy Watson Author Of Closer to Okay

From my list on using food as a catalyst to a better life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I used to write a food blog because I love stories about food, be they fiction or non-fiction. Food has the power to bring joy, healing, love, anger, sadness, etc.—you name the emotion and food can evoke it or remedy it. I’ve suffered from depression most of my life and the kitchen makes me feel better. Hearing that my chocolate cookies are amazing heals my heart a little at a time. Food and emotion go together like peanut butter and jelly, and I’m the first to pick up a book that skillfully employs both.

Amy's book list on using food as a catalyst to a better life

Amy Watson Why did Amy love this book?

I am in love with Paris. I went there once for work. I was there for four days and gained eight pounds. The pastries, the chocolate, the bread, the wine. Oh, the endless butter and sugar. So, a romance set in a Parisian Chocolaterie? I’m all in. There’s also a seduction set whilst walking up a staircase that’s the sexiest thing I have ever read and it’s not even close. 

Slyvain Marquis is every woman’s dream in that he woos them with chocolate. The descriptions of the flavors, textures, and smells are transporting. I’m so sad that a real box of his chocolates will never exist in the real world.

By Laura Florand,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Chocolate Thief as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Paris

Breathtakingly beautiful, the City of Light seduces the senses, its cobbled streets thrumming with possibility. For American Cade Corey, it's a dream come true, if only she can get one infuriating French chocolatier to sign on the dotted line. . .

Chocolate

Melting, yielding yet firm, exotic, its secrets are intimately known to Sylvain Marquis. But turn them over to a brash American waving a fistful of dollars? Jamais. Not unless there's something much more delectable on the table. . .

Stolen Pleasure

Whether confections taken from a locked shop or kisses in the dark, is there anything sweeter?…


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