Penny, The Review Group's reviewer Penny for Your ThoughtsThe Review Group
Children's ✦ Penny’s Take 🎧 Audiobook

The Chocolate Touch

Patrick Skene Catling · 2021
🎙 Narrated by Joel Froomkin
73/100
👍 Worth It

A well-worn King Midas retelling for children that earns its classic status — the emotional climax (John's mother turned to chocolate) lands without being traumatic, the greed-consequence-resolution arc is clear but not preachy, and the 1952 original's critical pedigree holds up. The 1950s cultural sensibility means some details feel dated, and the runtime is very short. Joel Froomkin's narration is the real reason to seek out the audio — listeners consistently call it expressive and say it makes the story shine, so this is one where the audio version is worth choosing over the page.

✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.

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🎙 Narration: excellent Joel Froomkin is consistently praised by listeners for an expressive, engaging performance that makes the story shine. A clear case where the narration elevates the source material and makes audio the preferred format.

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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Faith & family safety81
Substance / usefulness74
Craft & writing80
Originality68
Evidence & accuracy81
Hype vs delivers79
Age-fit80
👁 Human-eye gut-check70
Penny’s verdict73
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