Chocolate Fever
Henry Green's all-chocolate appetite turns into a fantastical illness and then a runaway adventure involving a very unusual hijacking.
- First published
- 1972
- Reading stage
- For older children
Reading this with your child
The fantasy starts from a precise excess
Henry likes chocolate in every form and at every meal before brown spots and an impossible diagnosis appear. Ask what is ordinary exaggeration at first and the exact point when the story leaves realism.
Do not turn the cure into nutrition advice
The illness is invented for comic fiction. The more useful discussion is how Henry's certainty changes when his favorite thing controls the day, and why the chase forces him to think beyond appetite.
Short length, busy plot
Penguin Random House lists the 96-page Puffin edition for ages eight to twelve. The book is brief, but medical confusion, running away and a hijacking make it a fuller narrative step than Freckle Juice.
Compare before choosing: Freckle Juice is the tighter classroom comedy about wanting a different appearance; Chocolate Fever offers a longer fantasy, chase and change of perspective. View the comparison title →
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