Banana - Hardcover

Ed Vere studied fine art at Camberwell College of Art and has been writing and illustrating children's books since 1999. He is published in both England and the US. Ed is also a painter, working from his studio in east London, and is represented by galleries in London and Los Angeles. After a year and a half living in Barcelona, Ed now lives and works in London.

PreS-Gr 2–Two big-eyed monkeys, two words, but only one banana. How to solve this dilemma is the premise of this colorful story. The monkey in the blue shirt has the banana, and the one in the red shirt wants it. Vere tells their story entirely through facial expressions, body language, and a clever use of “dialogue” which rapidly degenerates into a monkey melt down (“Banana! Banana? BANANA!!”). The monkey in blue reconsiders sharing, but only after his friend offers the second word in this story, a hesitant, “Please?” There's a bit more for these two to learn, but the end result is a win-win situation. Done in brightly colored inks and placed on pages of bold blues, yellows, pinks, and purples, this story is reminiscent of Chris Raschka's Yo! Yes? (Orchard, 1993) with its expressiveness and minimal dialogue. A fun choice for sharing with a group.–Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CAα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.