Do you want to add a little fun to your next novel study? The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling is a perfect choice. This humorous, imaginative story about a boy who takes his love of chocolate to the extreme is always a hit with students. If you’re looking for engaging activities to pair with your unit, you’ll find plenty of Chocolate Touch teaching ideas here.
Reading Level
Lexile 770L
Interest Level
Grades 3-5
Length
128 pages
Award
Massachusetts Children’s Book Award
Jump to Section
About the Book
John Midas is a boy who loves chocolate more than anything else. His sweet tooth leads him to convince friends to hand over their treats, and he never seems to get enough. One day, John discovers a mysterious coin and uses it to buy a box of chocolates from an unusual candy store.
After eating the single chocolate inside, John wakes up to a surprising new ability: everything that touches his mouth turns to chocolate. At first, this seems like a dream come true. But the magic quickly becomes a problem. John’s glove turns to chocolate when Spider teases him. His friend’s silver dollar is ruined when he bites it. His pencil transforms during a math test, making schoolwork impossible. Even water turns to chocolate, leaving John thirsty and frustrated.
The situation escalates when John accidentally turns his trumpet — and later, his mother — into chocolate. Realizing the seriousness of his condition, John returns to the candy store to seek help. There, he proves he is no longer selfish by offering to keep the chocolate touch forever if only his mother can be restored. Because of his selfless choice, everything John transformed returns to normal, and he learns an important lesson about moderation and gratitude.
⭐ Book Details
| Publication Date | 1952 |
| Reading Level | Lexile 770L • Scholastic Guided Reading Level N |
| Interest Level | Grades 3–5 |
| Major Awards | Massachusetts Children’s Book Award |
| Length | 128 pages (approx. 39,040 words) |
| Estimated Reading Time | About 2 hours and 36 minutes |
| Audiobook Length | — |
| Genre | Humorous Fiction |
| Setting | An unnamed town in the United States |
| Point of View | Third person |
| Themes | Self-Indulgent Behavior • Overindulgence in Chocolate |
| Memorable Quote | “John Midas was candy mad.” |
| First Line | “Most of the time John Midas was a very nice boy.” |
The Chocolate Touch Teaching Ideas
Book Unit Samples
Grab your novel study samples including vocabulary, comprehension questions, and constructed response writing prompt here.
You can get the book unit sample by clicking the button.
Teaching Idea #1 – The Story of Chocolate Video
This 2:20 minute video is a great introduction to the history of chocolate.
Teaching Idea #2 – Chocolate Tasting
Chocolate Tasting:
Since chocolate is the central theme of the book, it can be fun to do a chocolate-tasting activity. You can gather different types of chocolate. Have students taste and compare them. Talk about the different types of chocolate (milk, dark, white, etc.), where they come from, and how they are made.
S’mores
Making s’mores in the classroom is really easy. Have students work in small supervised groups. Students place marshmallows on shish kabob sticks. They then toast the marshmallows over a candle flame. Once toasted, students assemble the s’more by placing the melted marshmallows on graham crackers. Add chocolate. Then sandwich the treat together using a second graham cracker.
I used this activity with a small group of students who earned a reward by reading a specific number of books.
Teaching Idea #3 – Chocolate Timeline
In the “History of Chocolate,” you will find a timeline. A group of my students created this timeline as part of a project a number of years ago. Unfortunately, it is six pages long. YIKES! Students would be bored out of their minds trying to read through the timeline. Because of this, I created a scavenger hunt to make finding details fun. Students skim through the facts to find specific dates or information from these web pages. They add the information to the printable creating their own mini-timelines. Download the free printable here to get started. Students can use the timeline to write a paragraph similar to this one.
Teaching Idea #4 – Activities on the Web
Snowy Chocolate Pine Cones – This easy-to-make delicious treat is made from cereal, pretzels, peanut butter, Nutella, butter, and powdered sugar. Ingredients just need to be mixed and formed making it an easy classroom favorite.
The Chocolate Touch Teaching Ideas #5– More Activities
Math
Have students measure and weigh chocolate bars or calculate the percentage of cocoa in different types of chocolate.
Art
Students can create their own comic strip based on the book, using the characters and scenes from the story.
Students can use modeling clay or other materials to create sculptures of their favorite chocolate treats.
See the product that inspired this post.
The Chocolate Touch Novel Study includes vocabulary practice, comprehension questions, constructed response writing, and skill practice.
