To me not one of the best ( )

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Henry Green loves chocolate, probably more than any boy in the history of the world. When strange brown spots start to appear all over Henry's body, he catches the attention of doctors who seem fascinated with his mysterious illness. Henry finds out that he has what appears to be the only ever recorded case of Chocolate Fever. He soon grows shy of the doctors and runs away from the hospital, but finds himself in even more trouble as he lands in one predicament after another. First he gets chased around town by a crowd of doctors. Next, he runs into bullies at the schoolyard. Finally, he decides to hitchhike, and ends up in the middle of an unusual hijacking.

The hijackers fail to realize that they've commandeered a truck full of candy bars; something totally useless to them, and not the furs they were hoping for. The truck finally reaches its destination and the hijackers usher Henry and the driver into a log cabin. Soon, chaos erupts as dogs of all breeds start flooding the room...neighborhood dogs that were out on walks and were lured in by the smell of chocolate. The commotion that ensues somehow attracts the local police, who arrest the hijackers, return the dogs to their owners, and send Henry and the truck driver on their way.

After some filler, the truck driver, "Mac," introduces Henry to Arthur "Sugar" Cane, the owner of a candy store. Arthur tells Henry the story of another boy who had Chocolate Fever, and offers Henry the only known cure for his ailment: vanilla pills. Henry is overjoyed to be rid of the brown spots and almost doesn't hear Arthur announce that the story he was telling was his own.

Mac calls Henry's parents and reunites him with his family, Henry having learned his lesson. Maybe. At least until he discovers cinnamon.

I found this book in my attic and decided to incorporate it into my 50 Banned Books Challenge. (I'm hoping to read 50 banned or challenged books by the end of the year.) I noticed the book on several banned-books-lists, but still have no idea why it was challenged!

At 93 pages, I was able to read through the book in about five minutes.

The moral of this story appears to be that you CAN have too much of a good thing. Or that all actions have consequences that should be considered prior to undertaking them. (I'm personally more fond of the latter.)

The writing style contained in this book pleases me in that it's not the typical dumbed-down drivel I've encountered in more than a few present-day children's books. The ideas are fun, fully-developed, and at a level which children can relate to and understand. While not my favorite children's book, I respect this enough to boost my rating for it a bit.

All-in-all, it was a quick and entertaining read as well as a trip down Memory Lane. I'll be releasing my copy through bookcrossing.com to see what others think of it. ( )

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Easily one of my favorite books as a kid. ( )

"Henry's absolutely freaky over chocolate, loco over cocoa. He can't get enough, until... it's Chocolate Fever!" - jacket blurb.
When Henry breaks out in little brown freckles, he is diagnosed with the world's first case of Chocolate Fever. He runs away from the hospital, and gets mixed up in one adventure after another.
At 12 chapters and 93 pages, this story is good fun for children in grades 1 to 3. And it might even make them think about whether it's possible to have too much of a good thing. It's a nice traditional imaginative story, first written in 1972.
The Scholastic edition includes "literature study" questions at the end of the book, and suggestions for three learning activities based on the story. ( )