Chocolate Dreams

April 19, 2010
Some girls who savor frothy reading (or Strawberry Shortcakeâthe character) may enjoy this first book in the Candy Fairies series, but others will succumb to sugar shock. Set in the Candy Kingdom, home to the Chocolate Woods and Candy Corn Fields, Perelman's (the Camp Rock series) story centers on Cocoa the Chocolate Fairy, chosen by Fairy Princess Lolli (who has "a heart of sugar") to guard the precious first chocolate eggs of spring. When the eggs disappear, Cocoa realizes "She'd need every ounce of chocolate courage she had" to deal with this "huge chocolate mess." Knowing there's only one person "sour enough" to steal the eggs, Cocoa and Lolli travel to the cave of a "salty old troll." They feed him so many chocolate-covered pretzels that he falls into a "chocolate coma" and they retrieve the purloined candy. Though unabashedly saccharine, the tale contains an occasional dollop of spice: when one fairy shows off her sugarcoated fruit-chew necklace, another gushes, "You have the best taste." Final art not seen by PW. Also out: Rainbow Swirl. Ages 6-9.

January 1, 2013
These saccharine chapter books about the adventures of a group of fairy friends from Candy Kingdom focus too completely on the candy theme, sacrificing good storytelling--there are only so many candies the text can reference before becoming repetitive. Black-and-white illustrations in each chapter do little to enhance the lackluster narratives. Likable characters and accessible vocabulary may appeal to resistant readers.

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