Your child is reading “Cocoa Ice” by Diana Appelbaum. This story, set in the early 1800’s, tells about a trading schooner that enables a community in Maine to trade ice for chocolate with a village on a Caribbean island. You may enjoy discussing the story and doing these activities with your child. Together you can develop and explore your child’s language skills.
Life in the Past
Share with your child what you know about daily life and customs of past eras. You may be able to find these books about past eras in your local library:
• Giants in the Land by Diane Appelbaum, Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
• Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall. Vicking Penquin, 1983.
• House, House by Jane Yolen. Marshall Cavendish, 1998.
Connecting Communities Everywhere
In “Cocoa Ice,” the tropical delicacy chocolate is shipped to Maine far to the north. You and your child can learn about how your community is connected with communities around the word through trade. Help your child find and read labels on clothing, packaged food, and other products to find out the countries they came from. You might have your child write a list of the products and the countries.
