The most recommended chocolate books

Who picked these books? Meet our 37 experts.

37 authors created a book list connected to chocolate, and here are their favorite chocolate books.
When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

What type of chocolate book?

Loading...
Loading...

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 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 Pros & Cons

Dana Christy Author Of A Heart's Salvation

From my list on romance that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Why am I passionate about this?

A lover of suspense thrillers and all things horror, my first introduction to romance novels was during book club. I love a good Rom-Com but as a reader, I used to shy away from erotica or meet-cute alpha male novels. Now I devour romance novels but they need very specific things. Strong heroines and suspense...and yes, great love scenes. Sparking my passion for the romance-suspense mash-up, I took a personal story and turned it into a suspense-driven romance full of angst. With 2 published novels, I continue to read and write romance thrillers hoping to change the stigma of romance as ‘fluff’ and ‘smut’ and show the strength in love.

Dana's book list on romance that keeps you on the edge of your seat

Dana Christy Why did Dana love this book?

This book still fits into my niche of romantic suspenseful thrillers, but has an air of fun Rom-Com style writing and not the dark gritty suspense of my other recommendations. I loved this story. Sydney Logan was very creative with building the lust and desire between two professional thieves that are typically out to rival each other. A book about con artists may turn some off, but the sweet sassy relationship built between Ethan and Jenne will suck you in. Just when you think it's all flowers and chocolate, Logan has Ethan hiding Jenne away from a bigger threat until they join forces and take revenge. Suspense, intrigue, angst, and sass… This book is a homerun! 

By Sydney Logan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pros & Cons as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Con artists Jenna York and Ethan Summers always seem to cross paths during their travels around the world. With their partners in tow, the cunning criminals wreak havoc across the globe, stealing from the rich and giving to the richer. While Jenna tries to convince herself that she sees him as nothing more than a professional rival, Ethan finds it a little harder to fight his attraction to the beautiful thief. When tragedy strikes, Jenna and Ethan join forces, but are the stakes too high? Can they escape this last job with their lives-and their hearts-intact?


Book cover of How Sweet It Is

Nicole Pyland Author Of No After You

From my list on sapphic romance that will make you laugh.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve published more than 30 books in this genre, and more are on the way. I am passionate about it because I started writing Sapphic romance myself after reading a few really great books in the genre for the first time and the books that made me want to write myself were the ones that made me laugh and had great character development to go along with the laughter. The books I write today are often funny, some are sarcastic, and they’re focused on characters. These books also fit that bill. 

Nicole's book list on sapphic romance that will make you laugh

Nicole Pyland Why did Nicole love this book?

This book is one of the first I read in the genre, and it’s not overtly funny, which is why it’s here. I love books that are dramatic and show character growth while adding in humor. It doesn’t have to be over the top and should play to what the characters are going through. The main character talking to her fish isn’t something I expected to find in a book about finding love after loss, but it’s there along with some hilarious side characters that work in a bakery with Molly. The levity in those moments helps separate from some of the harder moments as our main character, Molly falls for the love of her life’s little sister in a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business.

By Melissa Brayden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How Sweet It Is as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Some things are better than chocolate...

Molly O’Brien is a sweetheart. Her friends and neighbors all think so. While she enjoys her quiet life running the town bakeshop in Applewood, Illinois, she wonders if there could be more. After losing the love of her life four years prior in a plane crash, Molly thinks she’s ready to navigate the dicey dating waters once again. However, you can’t always pick who your heart latches on to. When Jordan Tuscana, the beautiful younger sister of her lost love, returns to town, Molly finds her interest piqued in a manner she wasn’t prepared…


Book cover of Blaze and the Castle Cake for Bertha Daye

Alexandre Lacroix Author Of Dragons in Love

From my list on bedtime stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the happy father of five children, born between 2000 and 2017. So in my adult years, I have quite constantly lived in the company of young children, and I’ve started inventing stories for them. I have now six albums published in France, all of which were originally imagined for my kids just before we switch off the light for sleeping. Born in 1975, I live in Paris, I’m the chief editor of Philosophie magazine (a monthly publication with 50 000 readers), and I’ve published twenty novels and essays alas not available in English. I’m the president and co-founder of a creative writing school located in Paris, Les Mots.

Alexandre's book list on bedtime stories

Alexandre Lacroix Why did Alexandre love this book?

Claude Ponti is now in charge of the answers to the children's questions in Philosophie Magazine. Maybe less diffused in the Anglophone world than Ungerer, he’s clearly a great artiste, one of the biggest, with an extravagant and surrealistic imagination, and this album, in particular, is a masterpiece.

By Claude Ponti, Alyson Waters (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Blaze and the Castle Cake for Bertha Daye as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Claude Ponti’s nimble wordplay and punning, combined with his phantasmagorical and joyful illustrations, create an endearing gem of a book, bound to be a bedtime story favorite.

From one of the world’s most beloved children’s book authors comes a story of a high-spirited flock of friends building an unusual birthday cake. 
A rabble of soft, golden “chicklets” are awoken one morning to a startling proclamation: they only have ten short days to prepare for their best friend Bertha Daye’s party. It’s time to get to work building a larger-than-life castle cake to house and feed the revelers. Made of chocolate…


Book cover of Planting Hope

Cheri Swalwell Author Of Adventure's Invitation

From my list on small towns where God turns messes into miracles.

Why am I passionate about this?

I tell people when I meet them that when I married my husband, I got roots. I moved a lot as a child, living in small country towns to suburbs of big cities, and my favorite place by far is in the country, surrounded by nature, feeling that sense of belonging. My husband and I live in his great-grandparent's house in the country, next door to his mother, who still lives in the house where she grew up and raised my husband. There is nothing I love more than sharing my love for Jesus with readers through fictional situations that could really happen. 

Cheri's book list on small towns where God turns messes into miracles

Cheri Swalwell Why did Cheri love this book?

This pick was a hard one, to decide which series of this author was my favorite. I picked this one because I absolutely love Jess. She is written in such a realistic and beautiful way. I couldn’t help but see some of myself in her. While this is the third book in this series (I highly recommend you read all three, in order) it was probably the one that stuck with me the longest. Brenda Anderson writes realistic, emotionally filled pages, drawing the reader in as though we belong. The storylines are all different and genuine and the characters all have their own personalities and quirks. There isn’t a book from this author that I don’t love and I highly recommend them all. 

By Brenda S. Anderson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Planting Hope as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When flowers and chocolate collide, romance is sure to bloom.

Family has always been the one constant in Jess Beaumont’s messy life, so when her parents separate, she puts “Operation: Planting Hope” into action. All she has to do is recreate the circumstances that helped her parents fall in love. Unfortunately, that includes the daunting task of restoring the family cabin’s gardens. When the handsome candy store owner shows up to help, she’s certain she has all the elements required for her parents’ love to bloom again. After all, flowers and chocolate are the perfect ingredients for romance.


Luke Harrison…


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 Asking for Truffle

Sarah Fox Author Of Six Sweets Under

From my list on culinary cozy mystery to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a cozy mystery lover with a sweet tooth, I devour dozens of mystery novels every year (many featuring food) and I love to sample new series while also following my long-time favorites. I have also written and published more than 15 cozy mysteries of my own, many of which have a culinary theme. Although I grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, I now live in a small town and I have a particular fondness for cozy small-town mysteries set by the ocean, as well as those featuring scrumptious treats.

Sarah's book list on culinary cozy mystery to satisfy your sweet tooth

Sarah Fox Why did Sarah love this book?

I picked up Asking for Truffle because I love another series written by Dorothy St. James (the Beloved Bookroom Mysteries), and this series hooked me as well.

The quirky characters and seaside setting are the perfect ingredients for a delightful cozy mystery, and the chocolate at the center of the story adds a delicious note to the well-rounded and intriguing mystery plot.

By Dorothy St. James,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Asking for Truffle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Charity Penn receives a letter saying she won a trip to Camellia Beach, South Carolina complete with free cooking lessons at the town’s seaside chocolate shop, The Chocolate Box, she’s immediately skeptical. She never entered any contest. Her former prep school friend offers to look into the phony prize—only to end up drowned in a vat of chocolate.

Struck with guilt, Penn heads to the southern beach town to investigate why he was killed. But as wary as she is of the locals, she finds herself lured into their eccentric vibe, letting her defenses melt away and even learning…


Book cover of The Chocolate War

Frazer Lee Author Of Greyfriars Reformatory

From my list on making you the inmate of a sinister institution.

Why am I passionate about this?

A lifelong horror fan, I have always been fascinated by haunted landscapes and creepy buildings. My childhood in the Midlands of England prepared me for my career as a horror writer and filmmaker with its abundance of spooky ruins and foggy canal paths. I have since explored ancient sites all across the U.K. and Europe and my novels are inspired by these field trips into the uncanny, where the contemporary every day rubs shoulders with the ancient and occult. Places become characters in their own right in my work and I think this list of books celebrates that. I hope you find them as disturbing and thought-provoking as I have.

Frazer's book list on making you the inmate of a sinister institution

Frazer Lee Why did Frazer love this book?

I read this book during my school days, which we are often told are the best of our lives. I enjoyed school, overall, but did encounter more than my fair share of bullies and vindictive teachers. Reading in the school library became my favourite escape, and I devoured this book in one lengthy sitting. I was fascinated and appalled in equal measure by secret society The Vandals, who made the kids at my school look like rank amateurs! After reading this book, the reader is left shell-shocked and wondering if it’s better to comply or to ‘disturb the universe’ as Cormier provocatively puts it.

By Robert Cormier,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Chocolate War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The bestselling controversial novel about corruption and misuse of power in an American boys' school.
The headmaster of Trinity College asks Archie Costello, the leader of the Vigils, a secret society that rules the school, to help with the selling of 20,000 boxes of chocolates in the annual fund-raising effort. Archie sees the chance of adding to his power - he is the Assigner, handing out to the boys tasks to be performed if they are to survive in the school. Freshman, Jerry Renault, a newcomer to the corrupt regime, refuses to sell chocolates. Enormous mental and physical pressure is…


Book cover of Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory

Teresa Anne Power Author Of Yoga at the Zoo: Little Mouse Adventures

From my list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over....

Why am I passionate about this?

Years ago, as I began teaching kids yoga, I noticed a lack of quality yoga-inspired children’s books. So, I took matters into my own hands and published my first book, The ABCs of Yoga for Kids, filling a void and sparking a series published in five languages. This success led to my Little Mouse Adventures series, blending storytelling with yoga and life skills. I believe in subtly imparting positive messages through playful storytelling, weaving in lessons along the way. My hope is young readers not only enjoy my stories but develop a lasting love for yoga and valuable life skills, just like the impact stories had on my own children. 

Teresa's book list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over...

Teresa Anne Power Why did Teresa love this book?

Curious George meets a classic I Love Lucy episode in this adorable story!

Sugary chaos ensues when Curious George wanders off during a tour of the chocolate factory! When George accidentally sets the candy-making conveyor belt speed to HIGH, he finds himself in a hilarious race to keep pace with the rapid production, leading to deliciously amusing outcomes and a very full tummy!

Funny, silly, and full of heart, your kids will want you to read this book again and again

By H. A. Rey, Margret Rey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Curious George finds his sweet tooth--and plenty of chocolate--on a visit to a candy store.

When George and the man with the yellow hat go shopping at a chocolate factory store, George becomes curious about how the chocolates are made. Though he starts off following the factory tour, soon he is wanders off to investigate on his own. And when George follows his curiosity there is always fun to be had!


Book cover of No Monkeys, No Chocolate
Book cover of Lilly's Chocolate Heart
Book cover of Pros & Cons

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,388

readers submitted
so far, will you?