Tree of Dreams by Laura Resau - ADVISABLE

Tree of Dreams by Laura Resau, 316 pages. Scholastic, 2019. $13.        

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Coco and her mom live in Heartbeat Springs, Colorado. They run a chocolate shop. Coco is involved with the whole process of making the chocolate, and she loves to come up with new recipes to entice the customers. Coco loves chocolate and she thinks a little (or a lot) of chocolate can make everything better. Coco is worried, because her mom says they will have to sell the shop. They are no longer selling enough chocolate to pay their bills. Coco keeps having dreams about an old ceiba tree. She believes the answers to all their problems is hidden in the roots of on particular ceiba tree. Coco enters a chocolate making contest and hopes to win. The grand prize is a trip to the Amazon, where the ceiba trees grow.   

I loved the story of Coco and the chocolate. Coco is a believable and thoughtful character. I learned a lot about the process of making chocolate from growing cacao beans to ending up with the finished product. I learned about the Amazon, ceiba trees, and indigenous people. I will use this book in my library and in my book talks.  In the story Coco comes face to face with the destruction of the rainforest, the people who live there and their way of life. I could not put the book down. I had to keep reading to see what would happen to Coco and her friends. The books teaches several good lessons for life, including the fact that we will all meet with struggles and hardships, but with the love and support from loved ones and people close to us we can overcome the difficulties.

Ellen-Anita, Librarian