This story is based on a true happening. The Jews were run out of Spain. They took the skills they had with them and tried to live on them. But France had never tasted hot chocolate and they were struggling to live.
Green Bean Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can get a copy now.

The little boy in the story falls into the shelving and gets hot chocolate all over him. He runs outside amd makes a carriage stop. The man in the carriage thinks he's covered in mud. He tells him it's chocolate. The man gets out and has a taste.

Then the most exciting thing happens. And soon the Chocolate King is working again.

How do you get kids interested in history? You give them the history of things they already like. Give them the history of toys, sports, or chocolate. And since this is a narrative rather than dry facts kids will find it easier to engage. Fun and well illustrated.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Chocolate King is a thought provoking children's book about something we eat lots of and take for granted today - chocolate.
I found this historical story fantastic.
Marco (the Chocolate king) learns the Aztecs hot chocolate recipe. After being forced to leave Spain they find it really hard to make any kind of living from selling chocolate. But then after an accident that occurs in front of another king, this changes their fortune.
This was a comical read with fantastic illustrations. I went and made a hot chocolate after reading this!

The Chocolate King is part history, part science, and part delicious! We travel back in time to when Benjamin's family arrives in France to escape the Spanish Inquisition. With them they bring his grandfather's, the Chocolate King, famous hot chocolate drink. It takes some time for people to catch on but by chance the Chocolate King meets the actual king and wins over the population!

This book would make a great addition to any cooking unit or a chocolate unit! Homeschoolers and parents will both enjoy the gently nods to history as well as the explanation of cocoa processing in the back of the book.

We take chocolate for granted today - many of us do not stop to think that it was not as widely accepted in the past. The Aztecs had a delicious hot chocolate recipe that they made, and Marco, the Chocolate King, has learned this recipe - and sold it widely in Spain before they were forced to leave. When they made it to France, they found it was very hard to make a living by selling chocolate, that is, until Benjamin has an accident and stumbles out in front of the French king!!

With royal patronage, the family soon has enough money to buy more beans, and also add new spices to their drinks, to add new flavors. What a great end to a messy accident!

This was a cute read, and I loved the history that was included as well. If you love hot chocolate, then you are going to want to try the recipe that is shared in the book (it is delicious, and we enjoyed it here at home). Grab this fun book and share a little history in the guise of a cute story!

Really love this book!! Great illustration for a wonderful story. A Jewish family who made great hot chocolate drink that got chased out of Spain. So they started the same venture in France, with no avail, until, of course, one day they got lucky.

This is a good book for kids who started to enjoy reading longer stories.

I thought that this was a wonderful fun story and I loved the illustrations they really helped to bring the story to life and they are really spot on for the story itself taking you back in time.

The story was easy to follow and it did allow for me to discuss other things with my daughter briefly (she is only 4) but she is learning about being kind at school and this was loosely badged as in the past not everyone as kind and they were forced to leave their homes.

She really enjoyed it and she loves chocolate but the book did its job in that she did pause and think about what has happened to Benjamin and his family too.

It is 4 stars from me for this one – highly recommended!

Benjamin’s grandfather, Marco, is known as the Chocolate King because everyone agrees he makes the best hot chocolate in all of Spain. But when the family is forced to flee and settle in France everything changes. Although Marco brings his prized cocoa beans with him, nobody in France is interested in this strange drink which they say looks and probably tastes like mud. It takes a fortunate accident and a royal decree before Marco’s hot chocolate becomes a sensation. Back matter includes a brief history of chocolate and the Jewish community in Spain, how cocoa beans are made into chocolate, and a hot chocolate recipe. Thanks to Apples and Honey Press and Netgalley for giving me an advance reader copy of this beautifully illustrated picture book in exchange for an honest review.

The Chocolate King is a beautifully illustrated story about the history of how refugee Jews brought chocolate to France after having to leave their homeland. There are timelines and flow charts for when and how chocolate became popular in France. I read this book with my 5 and 9 years old daughters, who both gave the story 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.

The story unfolds about a jewish family that is forced to escape from the horrors of the Spanish inquisition.

It is beautifully written and illustrated as the young Benjamin has to restart his life in France as a chocolatier.

He faces many hurdles on the way but remains focused and .deals with all that life throws at him..

He succeeds as his grandfather Marco, the original Chocolate King, did in Spain.

An optimistic and uplifting story. I enjoyed it immensely.

Read this one with kiddo (7) and they really enjoyed it. They rated it 4 stars (most likely because to get 5 stars from them it would need to be about baseball). The story is sweet (it is about chocolate after all) and simplifies some heavy historical topics to give a basic understanding of how Benjamin's grandfather became "The Chocolate King" in France after being forced to leave Spain for being Jewish.

The events that unfold are funny if a bit implausible, and Benjamin is endearing. The king is portrayed in a rather comical fashion which fits with the time period. Overall an enjoyable read that teaches a bit about history and includes information on the history of and process of making chocolate.

The illustrations are sweet and funny and suit the story and the characters. I really like the colors that are used - they give it an old-fashioned feel that makes it seem more authentically historical.

The story is short and rather simple - perhaps simplified a bit too far in an effort to make kids understand it. While my kiddo enjoyed listening to it they don't seem inclined to read it again. It could have included more historical detail and a bit deeper story to invite rereading and further exploration of the time period.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Pen&Sword, Green Bean Books for providing an e-arc for review.

Really sweet book (pun intended) about a family that immigrates from Spain to France and has to start all over.

Great moral to the story and perfect for 7 and up. Younger kids will enjoy the story (I mean it is about chocolate after all) but they might not get the moral of the story until a little older. Still a quick read and perfect over a cup of hot chocolate!

THIS BOOK IS SO CUTE! I will be buying this for my daughter! The story flowed nicely - the formatting within NetGalley shelf was a little off but I made it work. I really liked the chocolate history that was added at the end.

A picture books that tells the tale of how Benjamin and his family were driven from Spain, where his father had had a ship selling chocolate. He was known as the Chocolate King.

But the jews were driven from Spain, and so they ended up in France where people didn't know about chocolate, and didn't know what to do with this strange stuff that this new person had brought with them.

So, this is the story of how his father went back to being the Chocolate King, by meeting the real king of France, who fell in love with the chocolate.

Very simple story. No real tension, although we are told things are not going well, but this being a picture book, there isn't a long time before all is well again.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

From a Jewish-minded publisher comes this story, not only of how Jews avoided persecution yet still managed to commercialise drinking chocolate, but also of how a pleasant accident can change lives. It's not an earth-shattering narrative, but there's enough here alongside the plotting to convey the connection many may not have expected between the religion and, er, Jewishness. For chocolate is a religion to many, and it all (if this is to be believed) starts here. Shelve alongside a very similar volume concerning fish and chips (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3988407060) and you might build up a complete semi-factual cuisine history.