How Sweet It Is (and Was): The History of Candy - Hardcover

Ruth Freeman Swain; John O'Brien

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0823417123 ISBN 13: 9780823417124

Publisher: Holiday House, 2003

Synopsis

Provides a colorfully illustrated review of how many popular candies came into being while explaining how they became associated with certain holiday celebrations, such as candy corn at Halloween and chocolate hearts for Valentine's Day.

About this title

About the Authors

Ruth Freeman Swain has been a preschool instructor and taught creative movement. She is the author of two books illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith, "Bedtime!," a National Council of Social Studies Notable book, and "Hairdo!: What We Do and Did to Our Hair,": which Booklist praised as "an entertaining, informative picture book," and which Kirkus Reviews call "a cut above." A native of Pennsylvania, Ms. Swain now lives in Maine.

John O'Brien is an illustrator, musician, and lifeguard. His cartoons appear in The New Yorker and other publications. The many books he has illustrated for children include "Red, White, Blue, and Uncle Who?:" "The Story Behind Some of America's Patriotic Symbols" by Teresa Bateman. Booklist praised his illustrations for that book for their "unexpected humour...playful action and comical details." John O'Brien divides his time between New Jersey and Florida.

Reviews

Grade 2-4-From information about the ancient Egyptians to modern Danes, who each consume an average of 36 pounds of sweets per year, this work is packed with savory tidbits that will keep readers turning pages. Those familiar with the author's Hairdo!: What We Do and Did to Our Hair (Holiday, 2002) will immediately recognize the format. The trivia is presented quickly and loosely in chronological and geographical order. Swain begins with the origin of the word "candy"-from the Arabic "qandi" which in turn has an Indian Sanskrit background. From here the history moves to ancient Egyptians and Romans, Europeans of the Middle Ages, Native Americans who favored maple syrup, Queen Elizabeth I, who ruined her teeth with "kissing comfits" and "dry suckets," Mayans who held the real treasure (chocolate), and 19th-century "penny candy." Not to be overlooked are modern giants like Milton Hershey and Gummy Worms. To continue the sweet thoughts, there are three recipes: Sugar Paste (a 20th-century adaptation of a 16th- and 17th-century recipe), Vassar Fudge (definitely higher education), and "Belly-guts" Taffy (the strands look like what hung in butcher shops). O'Brien's colorful cartoon drawings take the text to a new and funnier level. This is a nonfiction treat that youngsters will enjoy with their dentists' blessings.-Carolyn Janssen, Children's Learning Center of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 1-3. Sugary sweets have delighted humans since ancient times. Serving up a tasty smorgasbord of facts, Swain's illustrated history of candy is presented in rough chronological order. Unfortunately, sections on subjects from Elizabethan sweetmeats to maple sugaring to South American chocolate production have no real transitions to bind them, creating a somewhat disjointed text. Also, the anecdotes, stemming from different eras and countries, are not fleshed out adequately to stick in the minds (or teeth) of readers. Happily, the delightfully absurd, crosshatched illustrations comically exaggerate the stories and enliven the book considerably. The history closes with "short and sweet" facts about sugar and its consumption, a bibliography, a candy time line (from 1493, when Columbus brought sugarcane seedlings to the Americas on his second voyage, to 1999, when radio lollipops were invented), and recipes for items such as Vasser Fudge. Much like candy itself, a nonessential treat. Karin Snelson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Holiday House
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0823417123
• ISBN 13: 9780823417124
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32