As novels such as Chocolate Fever and The Chocolate Touch affirm, adventures about chocolate that are liberally laced with humour go down well with young readers of fiction. Crazy for Chocolate, an easy-to-read adventure story in the same captivating tradition as the earlier favourites, also manages to stir in some fascinating facts about the confection that “has made the world a sweeter place.”

Faced with a research assignment on the history of a favourite subject, Anne Banks visits the public library on a conventional quest for information. A new librarian promises her a very interesting supplement to non-fiction books about chocolate. Anne finds herself in possession of a CD-ROM that’s exceedingly interactive – it allows her to travel back in time. As the cover illustration suggests, Anne dives into the heart of chocolate and its most memorable moments.

Who said that history must be boring? Although the text of the novel is extremely simple, readers will be engaged and intrigued by the situations and difficulties Anne encounters. Whether she is receiving hands-on instruction about the cacao pod in a rain forest, facing the possibility of Aztec-style sacrifice by Montezuma, or locked in a dungeon by a cocoa-crazed French queen, Anne’s explorations are exciting and often amusing, but they are not necessarily sweet. The computer mouse she carries enables her to click herself out of an adventure when danger becomes overpowering.

While salvation by mouse may seem a bit trite as a way of exiting and entering eras of history, Crazy for Chocolate is designed for early readers who do not yet demand sophisticated transitions into fantasy. The shifts are effective and appropriate in the context. As well, the inclusion of Anne’s non-fiction report on the history of chocolate adds a suitable finishing touch to the novel. While most research projects will definitely be more mundane in the making than Anne’s effort, it may be instructive for students to realize that the pursuit of knowledge can include a delightful element of adventure.