Anna, Banana, and the friendship split

Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 3-5-The first two titles in a new chapter book series by debut author Anica Rissi feature third grader Anna, her dog Banana, and her two best friends, Sadie and Isabel. In Anna, Banana and the Friendship Split, readers meet Anna and Sadie as the two are celebrating Anna's birthday. Anna hopes to use her birthday wish on a trip to Water World, but Sadie encourages her to wish for a pony. When Anna opens a present from her grandparents, she finds a glittery pony necklace inside-her wish came true! Yet Sadie grabs the necklace, and proceeds to wear it. Anna and Sadie begin to argue and Sadie storms off-with Anna's new necklace. The rest of the book follows Anna as she alternates between being mad and feeling sad at losing Sadie as her best friend. The simple plot picks up very quickly in order to provide a resolution. In Anna, Banana and the Monkey in the Middle, Anna and Sadie have apologized and gained a mutual new best friend in Isabel. Anna is excited to go on the class trip to the zoo, but trouble quickly brews again as both Sadie and Isabel want to sit with Anna on the bus. Anna begins to realize that having two best friends can be hard. The characters begin to come into their own more in this second title, with Anna's family providing her with a strong support system and logic to help realize that "having two best friends doesn't mean cutting yourself in half to hand out two smaller pieces." Black-and-white interior artwork is included throughout both books. Fans Sara Pennypacker's Clementine, Hilary McKay's Lulu, and Anna Branford's Violet Mackerel will enjoy meeting Anna and her friends. VERDICT Consider adding in libraries where simple chapter book series are popular.-Lisa Kropp, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

Anna's birthday wish for a pony comes true: she gets a pretty pony pendant necklace. But her best friend, Sadie, wants the necklace for herself and demands either it or Anna's dog, Banana. They fight, and Anna worries they'll never make up. Well-rounded characters, sweet spot art, and a relatable plot that avoids didacticism make this an entertaining chapter book. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Jealousy threatens to tear best friends apart.The story opens with best friends Anna and Sadie celebrating Anna's birthday with her family. While all is well at first, Sadie's behavior gets stranger and strangerstarting with general bossiness and escalating into a demand to wear Anna's special birthday necklace before claiming it as her own. Empathetic Anna doesn't understand why Sadie is so angry that she's acting out, reflecting, "Even though I wasn't sure exactly what I'd done wrong, I could still apologize, since I definitely was sorry that Sadie was mad." There's a surprising amount of tension as Anna struggles with her bafflement, narrated in an emotionally sensitive first-person voice. Anna's parents eventually help their daughter understand that despite spoiled Sadie's outward enjoyment of her divorced parents' laxity and indulgence, Sadie is actually jealous of Anna's close-knit family. Fairly realistically, the girls resolve their problems not through words but through actionsan exchange of kind gestures reconciles the friends. Children may wonder why Anna's dog, Banana, gets such prominent billing, as although he is her boon companion, he does not figure much in the plot. A realistic story for sensitive kids. (Fiction. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split Chapter One Make a Wish Sadie says the best thing about birthdays is getting presents, but my favorite part is the birthday wish. I've read all the fairy tales--I know you have to be careful what you wish for--so this year, I planned my wish out weeks in advance. I was ready. Everyone sang as Dad brought out the cake and placed it on the picnic blanket spread across our living room floor. It was chocolate cake with pink vanilla frosting: Sadie's and my favorite. Nine yellow candles flickered on top. I opened my mouth to suck in a huge breath, when Mom startled me. "Banana!" she said. "Get your nose out of there! Cake is not for dogs." Banana backed away from the birthday cake, making guilty eyes. She wagged her whole backside to tell Mom sorry and turned to sniff my best friend, Sadie, instead. Sadie giggled and pulled Banana onto her lap. "Come on, Anna," she said to me. "Make a wish!" I closed my eyes for just a second and pictured what I wanted: a trip to Water World. I could almost feel myself racing down a tall, twisty waterslide, zipping around the curves with Sadie right behind me, and splash-landing together in the giant wave pool below. The commercials made it look like the funnest place on Earth, and I'd been wanting to go since forever. Chuck had said our parents would never take us there, but I knew if I used my birthday wish on it, it would have to come true. Birthday wishes have extra magic. That's how I got Banana. I leaned toward the candles, ready to blow. But before I could let out my breath, Sadie whispered, "Wish for a pony." I froze. Where would we keep a pony? "Any day now, monkey face," Chuck said, sticking his finger in the frosting. Ugh. For a second I considered using my wish to ask for a less-annoying older brother, but even birthday-wish magic probably couldn't fix Chuck. Sadie nudged me. She snorted and flared her nostrils like the horses we'd seen at the park, and gave a little whinny of encouragement. She sounded just like a real stallion. I grinned at her and Banana and turned back to my cake. Blowing out the candles with one big breath, I thought, I wish for a pony. I can never say no to Sadie. She's my best friend. Excerpted from Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split by Anica Mrose Rissi All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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