Why The Banana Split [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jimmy Holder (Illustrator) "When Rex carne to town, everyone looked at his huge head high in the air and at his large sharp teeth..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The creators of Pig, Pigger, Piggest here dish out a kid-tickling serving of humor, illustrating a sequence of punning variations on verb phrases that can all be translated, roughly, to mean "exit." This is exactly what the characters (some human, most not) do when a gigantic dinosaur appears, baring his enormous, sharp teeth. Jump ropes "skipped town," astronauts "took off," frogs "hopped a train" that then "made tracks" and (in a triple whammy) "the bananas split, peeled out, slipped away." Walton stretches his concept with some of the entries (e.g., baseball players "struck out on their own" and trees "took their leaves") and indulges in several groaners (shoppers say "Good buy," and shopkeepers add, "Buy buy"). Depicting amusingly frantic faces on a variety of inanimate objects, Holder's stylized, fittingly exaggerated cartoons will wring chuckles from the audience. Although their worldlier parents may want to take a hike from the one-joke wordplay, kids riveted by puns will guffaw. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-An erratic pun sampler from a veteran riddler. When dinosaur Rex visits (suitcase with travel stickers daintily in claw), everyone and every thing clears out of town: people, cattle, trains, lettuce, and jackhammers. Of course, they all leave with a play on words-the banana split, the baseball players strike out, and the frogs hop a train. Definitely a read-aloud, this book is a visual riot but some of the verbal puns are sure to elude a younger audience ("trees took their leaves" or "knives cut and ran"). Holder meets the challenge of personifying inanimate objects like trees, boots, and water with mixed success. Actually, the cows with their upturned snouts (they "mooved on") look even weirder than the jump ropes with eyeballs and eyelashes at the ends of the handles (they "skipped town"). Still, children will get a kick out of the panic-stricken exodus caused by the big-mouthed, but ultimately benign monster. A super-silly, plotless punfest that could also serve as a good linguistic example for kids trying to create their own wordplays.-John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX

Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith, Publisher; 1st edition (July 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879058536
• ISBN-13: 978-0879058531
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 9.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,024,778 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious tale of how a town reacts when a dinosaur visits., October 9, 1999

By A Customer

This highly entertaining tale describes how a town's inhabitants react when Rex the dinosaur arrives. Everyone has a unique way of reacting to the great big dinosaur with huge teeth. But the author's description of HOW the town reacts is what makes this story a true delight. Children will be delighted with the detailed and action-packed illustrations. Adults, however, may be surprised to find the pun-filled story line is as entertaining for them as for the intended 4 to 8-year-old reading audience. A true masterpiece of plays on language, parents will find themselves wanting to read this story again and again to their children -- and themselves!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, July 21, 2004

By	Rebecca Johnson "SeasonedwithLove.com" (Washington State) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

The cover of this book had my attention with its witty title and silly banana cowboy running across the cover. The title also makes you want to find out why the banana "split." So, I started to read Rick Walton's word-play adventure. He has created over thirty books for kids and he loves to travel with his family. Whenever they get the chance, they love to visit Yellowstone or Disneyland. They also love to eat bananas.

Jimmy Holder has created a unique form of art from a comical standpoint. His art has a motion all of its own and you can feel the emotions of the characters as they scream, run, skedaddle and exit the vicinity of the voracious dinosaur's presence. As he looms above the streets with his tiny green suitcase, you can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

First, you see a town of people absolutely motionless with fingers pointing up into the air, then you see everyone start to run. "Rex" just grins and seems to be enjoying the mayhem. Then, they all scream: "Run Away! Run Away."

Next thing you know, the jump ropes have eyes and eyelashes and are skipping town. Bananas peel out of town and frogs hop a train. The frogs are especially adorable as they almost seem to be quivering in fear and leaping into a yellow train. The page about trees and water reminded me of something from Lord of the Rings. Next, all the boots take a hike on their own and knives cut up vegetables as they run.

"Why are you all running away?" asked Rex.

"We don't want you to eat us."

"But I only eat fruit!" said Rex

So, everyone returns and then you turn the page:

"All except for the bananas."

Who are all running around on the freeway in a state of utmost despair. It is quite witty, very funny and will even make parents grin.

~The Rebecca Review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Book, October 5, 2007

By	R. Hardy (Spanish Fork, Utah) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Why the Banana Split (Paperback)

This delightful book is filled with a play on words and my granddaughter loves my reading it to her, then asks to have it read again & again.

I'd heard of this author, Rick Walton, at a Conference I attended this summer (recommended by the professor) & have found his books to be excellent.