Coco Ice by Diane Applebaum

Genre: Informational Fiction
Publisher: Orchard Books (NY) (September 1997)
Pages: 56
Awards/Honors: N/A

Summary: Two young girls, one from Santo Domingo and the other from Maine, learn about the life and culture of each others world. As the story tells of life in Santo Domingo, the reader learns of the rainforest and the harvesting of cocoa beans. As traders from Maine come to trade their resources with the people of Santo Domingo, the reader is given information about each place and the resources that are important to each region. As the two girls learn, their lives are similar and the both love "cocoa ice".

Personal Rating: **** Great! Great way to learn of two different areas of the world. This is story allows for many enriched learning opportunities for the children.
Reading Level: 3.6
Interest level: 2nd-4th grade

Curriculum: Great unit for integrating across the curriculum.
Reading: Venn Diagrams comparing/contrasting the two girls or the two locations. Triple Venn comparing yourself to the girls or a triple Venn comparing North Carolina, Maine, and Santo Domingo.
Make "Cocoa Ice" (Chocolate milkshake)
Social Studies: locate on map the locations from the story and chart the path the trade ships may have taken. Discuss the people, culture, life, weather, history and other information of each place.
Science: Study the history of chocolate and how it is made from the cacao beans.
http://www.chocolatelovers.com/history.htm
Study the rainforest.
Students can do research papers on different rainforest.
Math: Graph our favorite type of chocolates
There are many ideas and other activities that can be incorporated into this unit. Especially if you look on the Internet.

Problems/Difficulties: The story is long and tedious to read. For slower readers it may be too overwhelming to read independently.