No Monkeys, No Chocolate

Everyone loves chocolate, right? But how many people actually know where chocolate comes from? How itP#8217;s made? Or that monkeys do their part to help this delicious sweet exist?Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;This delectable dessert comes from cocoa beans, which grow on cocoa trees in tropical rain forests. But those trees couldnP#8217;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 maggotsP#8212;they all pitch in to help the cocoa tree survive. A secondary layer of text delves deeper into statements such as Pquot;Cocoa flowers canP#8217;t bloom without cocoa leaves … and maggots,Pquot; explaining the interdependence of the plants and animals in the tropical rain forests. Two wise-cracking bookworms appear on every page, adding humor and further commentary, making this book accessible to readers of different ages and reading levels.Plt;brPgt;Plt;brPgt;Back matter includes information about cocoa farming and rain forest preservation, as well as an authorP#8217;s note.