The Chocolate Touch

John is shocked when his growing power turns his mother into chocolate. Who is most to blame for John’s mother being turned to chocolate? Use details in the story to support your ideas. Think about these points as you formulate a response:

• Why does John kiss his mother?
• What role do John’s parents play in his conflict?
• How would you judge Dr. Cranium?
• Which other characters may share some blame?
• How do the characters react to John’s mother’s transformation?

Teaching Suggestion: It might be tempting to blame John completely, and he certainly has culpability, but readers might make a case for one or more other characters who share in the blame. Framing the question as to who holds the most blame can lead to additional analysis and critical thinking. One way to approach this question could be to post characters’ names around the room and ask students to stand by the character they believe is most to blame, then move to the character who is next most to blame. This would require students to choose at least two characters to whom to assign culpability, leading to a more nuanced analysis. Students could then discuss their choices and reasoning with those around them and/or share to the class.