Beautiful Bananas [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Laird (Author), Liz Pichon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Beautiful Bananas ia an imaginative picture book in the African folktale tradition. A little girl sets off through the jungle to take a beautiful bunch of bananas to her grandfather. On the way she encounters a number of wild, but friendly animals who take her bananas, but then apologise and replace them with various treats, until finally an elephant gives her another bunch of bananas. A beautiful circular tale, the kind of which often appears in folklore around the world. This particular story is often heard in East Africa. BLElizabeth Laird is a high profile, award-winning author who has been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and has won the Smarties Young Judges prize. She is also a specialist in African folklore. Her acclaimed works include When the World Began published by Oxford University Press BLLiz Pichon is an exciting new children's book illustrator who has worked on a number of successful reference series for Oxford University Press

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 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
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. This easy-to-read (and learn) folktale will be a hit with young audiences for its direct action and elegantly circular structure. Beatrice sets out for her granddad's, balancing a bunch of bananas on her head, only to have the giraffe's tail sweep the fruit into the river. The apologetic giraffe gives Beatrice a bunch of flowers instead, but those are ruined by a swarm of bees. The bees give her a piece of honeycomb, and so on through one animal encounter after another, until, by the time Beatrice reaches her destination, bananas have come round again. To go with Laird's spare, present-tense retelling, Pichon provides brightly lit cartoon scenes featuring a smiling, brown-skinned child in a series of generic jungle backdrops. Aside from the African animals that Beatrice encounters, there is no indication of the story's origins, but the tale doesn't need a strong attachment to a particular culture or teller to be thoroughly enjoyable. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Pub Ltd (J); 1 edition (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561453056
• ISBN-13: 978-1561453054
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,862,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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