The Biography of Vanilla

by Julie Karner

Book Overview

While chocolate steals all the glory, vanilla is the scent and flavor that people cannot seem to live without. Discover the rich history of this orchid bean used in such products as candy, ice cream, soft drinks, medicines, and yes, even chocolate! Maps, illustrations, and full-color photos follow the vanilla bean's journey from its discovery by the ancient civilizations of Mexico, to Europe where its flavorful secrets remained a mystery to Europeans...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778724905
• ISBN13: 9780778724902
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Crabtree Classics
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.7" x 11.1"
• Age Range: 8 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 6

Customer Reviews

excellent book

This book is excellent. It has beautiful visuals that are well organized. It covers history, lands, colonies, slavery, growing, the vanilla bean, etc. One gains a great sense of vanilla history and its impact on different cultures. Reading level is at least junior high (lower if you have an advanced student). Students may need a guidarama or graphic organizer help to help them comprehend the text which is jammed with interesting and salient ideas. I had a troubled student work on this and he made a map of vanilla lands, a vanilla timeline, and vanilla ice cream from organic beans. He loved this book so much that he later requested a project on the Biography of Bananas (which ....alas, is it turned out was not such a great book). Despite my burn from Biography of Bananas, I liked this book so much , I will definately check out others in the series.