When I read the
blurb for The Great Chocoplot by Chris Callaghan – I thought what a great idea for a children’s
book. I raced out to buy it, read it in one sitting, and YES – the story more
than lives up to its blurb.
Jelly and her family live in
Chompton-on-de-Lyte, where everyone loves a Chocablocka bar or two. So when the
end of chocolate is announced, she can't believe it. Determined to investigate,
Jelly and her gran follow a trail of clues to a posh chocolate shop and its
owner, the pompous Garibaldi Chocolati. Gari's suspiciously smug, despite his
failing business and yucky chocolate. Is it really the chocopocalypse, or is
there a chocoplot afoot?
Jelly is a
fabulous heroine – she’s smart, feisty and intrepid. And each member of her
family is quirky and funny with their own role to play. Their witty dialogue
made me laugh out loud.
This fun
adventure is well paced and very clever. Chris manages to weave in science
and history making the story sound so plausible, I actually might start
stockpiling chocolate myself.
Jam-packed with
jokes, it is aimed at 8+ , but I think it is just as entertaining for adults as it is children. In particular,
I adore the witty news bulletins on the 'Chocopocal App', spread throughout the story. Plus there are
great black and white illustrations by Lalalimola that really add to the humour
and bring the book even more to life.
This is a truly
fantastic read. And in my mind, any book that includes the word 'chocolpocalypse' deserves to be read!
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2 comments:
Thank you for a lovely review Tamsin. I love Lalalimola's illustrations too - they completely brought the characters I had in my head to life :)
A good choice, Tamsin!
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