The Day the Banana Went Bad

This is a great book for today’s throwaway society except that the veg doesn’t end up on a compost heap! It’s a great title and looks, from the front cover, as if the banana might be really evil but it’s not quite like that when you carry on reading.

All is quiet on the introductory title page as the fruit and veg are smiling in their containers. But then one banana realises he has been discarded and sent to the reject bin because he is bruised and over ripe. He quickly rallies the rest of the rejected fruit and veg with a rousing cry of: ‘We won’t stay where we should! So what if we’re all wonky? Different isn’t bad – it’s GOOD!’

He works hard at freeing all the veg and they all get up to mischief in the supermarket including a page that children will definitely love as it features the banana baring its ‘bottom!’. They are then led to safety to a place that, for them, enables them to be free. The chosen spot will make everybody smile!

The story is all in rhyme with plenty of humour. The font is striking and, at times, bold with plenty of capitals to make the point. I think the book would be great for KS2 too as the drawings are in an appealing cartoon style that I think would particularly appeal to budding cartoon artists who are older – the faces are really expressive and would certainly provide inspiration for drawing more. Added to this are the jokes in the book – all in all, it will appeal to a wide audience including teachers celebrating imperfections and differences too.