Aronson, Marc & Marina Budhos. Sugar Changed the World
Clarion see Houghton Mifflin 2010 166p 20.00 978-0-618-57492-6
ms/hs Sugar - History - Sugar Trade - Slavery E-BN
The story of sugar is a a magical journey through the history of time. It links many races across many continents. It introduces slavery to the new world where sugar became the major product causing great pain and misery. The links from ancient time to modern travel a road that affects many lives. Sugar replaced honey as the spice of life. Honey was used to sweeten everything and ruled the world before sugar appeared in history gradually becoming the product people would prefer the most. The history behind sugar is a long and strange one interwoven with magic, spice, slavery, freedom and science. In ancient Indian and China around 1500 B.C. sugar was produced and used in their preparation of food but it would be a very long time before this product would travel to the modern world. In 600 B.C the Muslims are credited for learning and spreading the knowledge of the production of sugar. It is not until the discovery of the Americas in 1400’s that the sugar production becomes linked to the planting of the sugar cane with it also come the sugar plantations and the buying and selling of African slaves. This then turns into one of the darkest historical moments of the sugar production.
This is storytelling at it’s best. The author tells the story of sugar like a travelogue of events. It links cultures, people, historical events, magical moments, crucial moments in world history and the tragic dark history of slavery. The pictures in the book tell their own story and are just fascinating. What a wonderful combination of art work and storytelling. A book that should be in all libraries and it needs to be placed in children’s hands.
Includes: Timeline, photos, pictures, maps, bibliography,notes and sources, websites,and index.Diaz, Magna
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