How Sweet It Is (and was): the History of Candy (bk 1) (32 pgs)

Swain, Ruth Freeman. How sweet it is (and was): the history of candy. Holiday House. New York, 2003.

Summary:
How Sweet It Is is an amazing little book about the history of candy making and how the idea for candy even started. It starts out in the late 14th century and goes to the present to give an interesting look at what was once considered candy and the changes that have cause it to evolve into the sweets we eat today.

Author: Ruth Freeman Swain
Illustrator: John O'Brien
Illustrations: Illustrations appear to be little sugar granules that have been painted. The illustrations are whimsical and hilarious. I couldn't find any information about the medium that the author uses but it appears to be watercolor that has been manipulated to look like sugar.
Access Features: Additional Information, Acknowledgements, Candy Time Line, Recipes
Grade Level: PreK-3
Book Design: The cover of the book has a box of candy spilling it's contets out almost like an invitation to open the book and come in. The end pages are bright red with a candy wrapper appearance. The illustrations take up the entire two page spreads and the writing is over the illustrations. The illustrations present candy in whimsical situations that are open to interpretation but sometimes coincide with the writing.
Writing Style: Freeman uses very simple language to tell the history of candy and explains the more technical terms that she must use during the book. However, she continues to use the technical term after she explains it in order to make it memorable to the reader. The type face looks hand written and almost child-like.
Curriculum: Social Studies
Classroom Use: This book would be a fun way to talk about manufacturing and industrialization.
Standards: Social Studies-Standard 7: Production, Distribution, and Consumption; Standard 8: Science, Technology, and Society
Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Book 2004
Credibility: Freeman gives a list of the sources she used to write this book and also lists the people that helped her gather information, including the National Confectioners Association, Candy USA Organization, and the Mars and Hershey Foods Companies.
Related Texts: Sweets: A History of Candy-Tim Richardson; Chocolate: The Sweet History-Beth Kimmerle

Response:
Reading this book was so much fun. There were a lot of things about candy that I had no idea about. It would be a great way to lighten the mood when talking about an otherwise boring subject and take a look at how candy benefitted from industrialization. Freeman presents such a candid look at the history surrounding how candy came to be and the journey it has made to the present.