Review by Booklist Review
Every year, Mrs. Millet's class stages the Food Is Fun Healthy Eating Good Nutrition Pageant for their parents. Each student has a speaking part, but with more children involved this year, two kids will be wearing banana costumes. Second Banana feels dejected; she only gets half a line (three words) to say. After she complains at home, her family tries and fails to cheer her up with banana-related puns. Back at school, she notices that First Banana looks miserable, too. When Second Banana confides that she wanted to be "the only banana," First Banana whispers back that she doesn't want to be onstage at all. Second Banana saves the day with a plan that pleases them both. Simply written and empathetic, the first-person narrative unfolds from Second Banana's point of view. It's interesting to observe her trying out her parents' and her teacher's different approaches toward reassuring others. Meanwhile, she creates her own path. The illustrations, ink drawings brightened with colored pencils and paints, clearly express the characters' emotions. An appealing picture book for reading aloud.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A red-haired young thespian is stoked about her class's annual Food Is Fun Healthy Eating Good Nutrition Pageant: "Every kid plays a food. Every kid gets a line. It is a big deal." But due to a larger-than-usual class size, she's cast in the role of Second Banana, with only three words to say ("has potassium, too"). Mixed-media illustrations by Berube (Mae's First Day of School) offer emotion to the spreads: when the narrating Second Banana finds out that she has to share her part, her stem droops; when she lies down in despair, her costume covers her like a turtle shell. Then she confesses her resentment to First Banana, who, far from reveling in time onstage, wishes she could be anywhere else; in reaction, Second Banana switches from mourning her obscurity to trying to ease First Banana's anxiety. The setup gives Thornburgh (Skulls!) endless pun possibilities ("It's such an a-peel-ing role" says the protagonist's father), and the rest of Berube's costumes--a blueberry that fits over a wheelchair, Swiss cheese with arms and legs--delight, too. A funny, gentle nudge in the direction of being a better banana. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Uwe Stender, Triada US. Illustrator's agent: Lori Kilkelly, LK Literary. (Aug.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1--2--The "Food Is Fun Healthy Eating Good Nutrition Pageant" is about to begin. The narrator is a small white child with a mass of curly brown-red hair who is beyond excited to be in the pageant and cannot wait to get a part. The problem is that there is one child extra in the classroom this year, and so while there will be one Cheese, one Eggplant, one Pea, and one Sugar, there will be two Bananas, splitting the part. Our hero's partial line is, "… has potassium, too." And that's it. The disappointment is real, and Second Banana experiences an array of emotions, but what emerges is true empathy at the discovery that First Banana doesn't want to go on stage at all. Punning aside (it's "an a-peeling" part, reports the father), this picture book ticks so many boxes in the realm of social-emotional learning that it will be useful across curricula. The illustrations keep the mood light, but Second Banana's emergence from self-centered to compassionate and can-do is an epic journey in very few pages. VERDICT A necessary purchase that looks effortless, reads beautifully, has worthy messages, and is as sweet as the Sugar, which is "used sparingly."--Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The Food Is Fun Healthy Eating Good Nutrition Pageant is great…unless you are the Second Banana. All 15 of Mrs. Millet's students are excited each year for the pageant. Each gets to play a different healthy food, but this year there are 16 students. When everyone is assigned a role, it turns out there will be two bananas. The narrator is not pleased. This kid wants to be the only banana. Mrs. Millet is consoling, but she doesn't understand. And the little Second Banana's family doesn't even sympathize--they just make banana puns. The class rehearses all month long, and throughout, the Second Banana fumes at getting only half a line and half as much time on stage! Two days before the pageant, the kid realizes that First Banana doesn't seem happy either. It turns out First Banana doesn't want to be onstage at all. Second Banana tries to cheer up First, but to no avail. Thinking fast, the narrator has a bright idea for a new show finale and ends up with a new friend. Thornburgh's school story about making the best of a less-than-optimal situation and showing kindness and empathy for a new friend will ap-peel (sorry) to young readers and listeners, who will easily identify. Berube's expressive cartoons are a good match--those food costumes are pretty funny. Both bananas have pale skin, Mrs. Millet is a woman of color, and the rest of the class is diverse and includes one child who uses a wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.3-by-18.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 83.5% of actual size.) No rotten bananas here. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
