The Chocolate Touch

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1952

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-10

Chapters 11-12

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

John Midas lives in a small town with his parents. His teachers at school like him, and his classmates are nice. By all accounts, John is a good, perfectly behaved boy—but he has one fault: He’s “a pig about candy” (14). He spends all his money on candy, which he never shares with anyone.

One day, John’s parents notice red spots on the end of his nose, something John gets when he’s been eating too much candy. His parents take him to see Dr. Cranium, who says that John is too full of candy and needs to eat other foods. At home, John’s parents try to make him understand that his body needs other foods to be healthy, a concept John struggles to comprehend. His dad finally asks John to consider how eating candy affects John’s mother. John doesn’t understand this either, so instead of answering he goes outside to play.

Chapter 2 Summary

John finds a gold coin bearing his initials and then discovers a candy store he’s never seen before, where the storekeeper invites him to take advantage of a special discount on chocolate. When John says he has no money, the storekeeper asks about the coin in his hand—the one with John’s initials. The coin buys John a giant box of chocolate, which he takes home and hides under his bed.

That night, John makes a show of being tired to go to bed early. He takes the tonic that Dr. Cranium prescribed so that he’d get the nutrients he needs and pretends to fall asleep. As soon as his mom leaves his room, he opens the box of chocolate. He’s disappointed to find, amid lots of packing material, only one piece of chocolate. However, upon eating it, John finds it’s “the most chocolaty chocolate he had ever encountered” (34).

Chapter 3 Summary

The next morning, when John brushes his teeth, the toothpaste turns to chocolate that tastes just like the chocolate from the box. His sister sees him eating toothpaste and tries to rat him out to their mom, but John’s mom doesn’t believe that John ate the toothpaste or that it turned to chocolate. John’s orange juice and breakfast turn to chocolate, too, and he finishes both, thinking he’s “never before enjoyed his breakfast so much” (43).

John’s mother is proud of how he finishes his entire breakfast. If he eats his entire lunch, she promises, she’ll give him money to buy chocolate. John thanks her but declines, saying, “I don’t think I’ll need it” (44).

Chapters 1-3 Analysis

These opening chapters introduce John and his chocolate ability. John’s last name is a nod to King Midas, the king from Greek mythology who turned everything he touched to gold. The expression “Midas touch” is attributed to King Midas, and The Chocolate Touch is a play on this phrase. Like Midas, John begins his story greedy and selfish. He loves chocolate more than anything and will do whatever it takes to get some. The giant box of chocolate the storekeeper sells John symbolizes his greed. John thinks he’s getting a deal—a seemingly worthless coin for a giant box of chocolate—but is disappointed by the single chocolate inside. When John realizes that this single chocolate gave him his new ability, he thinks that either the storekeeper granted his greatest wish or that he got the better end of the deal after all.

Not until the story’s end does John fully realize the negative impact of his ability. His father’s request that John consider his mother’s feelings shows that John doesn’t yet know how to appreciate others’ feelings. The request also foreshadows how John finally considers his mother, comforting her, only to turn her to chocolate. This emphasizes the book’s theme The Effects of Greed and Selfishness on Others.