Bella's Chocolate Surprise »

Adam Guillain is the author of the Bella Balistica series and an educational consultant. He is a former writer-in-residence at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. Elke Steiner is a comic book artist and the illustrator of Bella's Brazilian Football.

Lessons about fair trade are at the center of this adventure that begins on Bella's birthday. Her mother has baked a chocolate cake and, delicious though it is, Bella begins to wonder where chocolate comes from. With the help of her friend the Quetzal bird, Bella harnesses the powers of her mystical pendant and flies to Ghana in West Africa, where she befriends a group of children working in the cacao fields. She soon learns that they are part of a collective that guarantees a fair income to workers and pays for the children to go to school. Delighting in her new cross-cultural friendships, Bella starts to plan how to get people from home involved in supporting fair-trade practices around the world.

Trans Fair USA newsletter

A lively, fast-paced read, mixing magical elements and realism, underpinned by positive messages about cross-cultural friendship, working together, and the benefits of fair trade.