School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This circular tale from East Africa incorporates familiar folkloric elements. A little girl sets out to take a gift of bananas to her grandfather. Along the way, she encounters a variety of jungle animals and each one causes an accident that results in her losing Granddad's present. The animal then replaces the lost object with a new one. By the time she arrives at the man's house, she once again has as a gift "a beautiful bunch of bananas." The cheerful, bold artwork complements the mood and setting of the story. The straightforward, repetitive plot is fast paced and will encourage children to anticipate the next calamity, and guess what the new item will be. With bright, eye-catching artwork and a simple text, this story makes a good read-aloud.-Margaret R. Tassia, Millersville University, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Beatrice, the heroine of Laird's (When the World Began) retelling of an African folktale, sets out across the jungle to her grandfather's house, intending to present him with a beautiful bunch of bananas. But a giraffe "flicks his tufty tail" and accidentally knocks the bananas out of Beatrice's arms and into a stream-setting off a chain reaction of animal faux pas and contrition that eventually brings the plot full circle. The giraffe apologizes by replacing the bananas with flowers; these in turn are ruined by some overzealous bees, who make amends by giving Beatrice some of their honey, and so on. The reparations of the final animal, an elephant, consist of none other than a bunch of bananas. "Oh, thank you," says round-faced, winsome Beatrice. "Bananas are best, after all." Pichon's (God Bless the Moon) pictures teem with energy, whether emanating from the comically expressive heroine or the boisterous but eager-to-please animals. The benevolently exotic setting glows with lemon yellow light and lime-green foliage, and readers will enjoy spotting, on each spread, the pair of eyes shining out between the jungle leaves. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
