A Lil’ twirly story of candy is an illustrated, humorous history written for youth and anyone curious about candy. Our story of candy’s history has loads of wacky, colorful characters with plenty of twists and turns. It is a history as twisty as a swirly pop! We included loads of candy recipes you can easily make with at least one recipe in every chapter and fun activities for all.

Calling all candy lovers! An illustrated and fun chapter book delivers the crazy history of candy and all your favorites!

Candy is more than a delicious and sweet treat adored by children and adults alike. It has a history all its own, from its early origins—think ancient Egyptians—to wacky innovators, unusual creations, and scandalous feuds among confectioners. This delectable book examines the sweet and storied life of candy as we know it.

The name itself has long origins, with qandi, meaning “sugared” in Arabic, and khanda, “piece of sugar” in Indian Sanskrit, leading the way. The sweet juice in the thick sugarcane grass was first enjoyed by the people of India. But although traditional knowledge says so, candy doesn’t always contain sugar; sometimes it uses other sweeteners like molasses or honey. And this isn’t the last of the delineations of what we consider candy and what is not. It even varies from country to country. Hot chocolate, anyone?

Candy’s story is a part of human history itself. There are cave paintings that depict people licking sticks used to collect honey from beehives: the world’s original lollipop. Fast forward to the first chocolate bar’s creation in 1847 to the current largest candy companies in the world—Nestle, Mars, Hershey—candy has become big money around the world.

But candy isn’t all fun and games; it also has a darker history. They shipped hundreds of thousands of African slaves in the 16th through 18th centuries from their country to others to work on harsh sugar plantations. With this increase in sugar production, candy’s manufacturing boom began, and they introduced candy to the masses.

Children and adults alike will delight in learning about the origins of various types of candy—chewing gum, hard candy, milk chocolate—as well as how they make their favorite sweets. A list of popular brands and their bestselling offerings, including Chiclet gum, M&Ms, and Tootsie Pops, among others, will have young readers fascinated learning the backgrounds of their beloved treats.

With notable quotes, pictures, trivia, games, recipes, and maps throughout, A Lil’ Twirly Story of Candy, has something for everyone.

Price: $19.99

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Reviews

A Fascinating history of candy. A Lil’ Twirly Story of Candy contains everything you ever wanted to know about candy. It covers the history of chocolate, lollipops, and gum, includes recipes for making these tasty confections, and is loaded with quizzes, word finds, and crossword puzzles to test your knowledge.

This book is for middle school kids, but adult readers would find the information fascinating. It might even inspire them to go out and find a black pine tree to make gum, just like the Indians did. Recommended for kids and adults who enjoy learning about the world around them.—Sherry Ellis

I love candy even more now. I’m not sure how Debra did this, but I now love candy even more than I did before. This book is excellent, clever, well-written and fun. To test this, I started reading this out loud to a group, and all commented and were involved in the conversations, especially the one about gum, which will continue long after you put the book down. I could see this being a great book to read in schools to spark activities and conversation, and a resource for projects. Super well done! – Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino

My candy came from where? I enjoyed finding out about the origins of where all these delicious treats have come from. My children and I enjoyed the fun games in the book and recipes to make our own sweet treats. Love that as a family we can talk about our sweets we love while learning the history and some interesting facts. -David Harris