Anna, Banana and the monkey in the middle

Format:

Book

Title:

Anna, Banana and the monkey in the middle

Author:

Rissi, Anica Mrose, author.

ISBN:

9781481416085

9781481416092

9781481481090

9781481416108

Edition:

First edition.

Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2015]

Physical Description:

116 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.

Series title(s):

Anna, Banana ;

Number in series:

Summary:

Anna has looked forward to her class field trip to the zoo, but from the time they board the bus she is pulled between her long-time best friend, Sadie, and new best friend, Isabel, who argue about everything and want Anna to take sides.

Reading Level:

006-010.

Subject(s):

Best friends -- Juvenile fiction.

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.

Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction.

Zoos -- Juvenile fiction.

School field trips -- Juvenile fiction.

Families -- Juvenile fiction.

Dogs -- Juvenile fiction.

Best friends -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Behavior -- Fiction.

Zoos -- Fiction.

School field trips -- Fiction.

Family life -- Fiction.

Genre:

Added Author:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Salem Main Library	J Rissi, A.	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Anna finds herself torn between two friends in the second book of a charming illustrated chapter book series about the joys and challenges of elementary school friendships.

Sadie and Isabel are Anna's two best friends, and Anna can't wait to go with them on the class field trip to the zoo--but she keeps getting caught in the middle. Isabel wants Anna to see the tortoise with her, but Sadie wants to see the spiny anteater. Isabel wants to do their group report on giant pandas, while Sadie wants them to write about zebras. With a little help from her beloved dog, Banana, as well as some wise advice from her family, can Anna figure out what it means to be a best friend to two very different people--and still be a friend to herself?

Author Notes

Anica Mrose Rissi grew up on an island off the coast of Maine, where she read a lot of books and loved a lot of pets. She now tells and collects stories, makes up songs on her violin, and eats lots of cheese with her friends in Princeton, New Jersey, where she lives with her dog, Arugula. Find out more at AnicaRissi.com and follow @AnicaRissi on Twitter.

Meg Park is a character designer and illustrator for clients including Disney, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Pictures. Meg lives in Scotland with her two cats Louie and Boo. She loves drawing, painting, and telling stories through her artwork.

Reviews (3)

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.

Horn Book Review

In Monkey, Anna finds herself in the middle of an unbalanced friendship trio; in Bet, she attempts to save her two friends from a bully by making a wager with him. Anna's diverse third-grade world is pleasant, as is the spot art scattered throughout, but Anna's voice feels a little too adult to be believable. [Review covers these titles: Anna, Banana, and the Big-Mouth Bet and Anna, Banana, and the Monkey in the Middle.] (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

Following Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split (2015), Anna must iron out the friendship wrinkles created when her duo becomes a trio. Anna's happy to be friends with Sadie again, and she's glad to have another best friend in Isabelshe wants Sadie and Isabel to be best friends as well. Their field trip to the zoo gets off to a bad start for the three as a unit, though: the bus driver won't allow more than two to a seat, putting Anna in the position of having to pick which friend to sit with. That sets the tone for the rest of their trip, as Sadie and Isabel jockey for the position of Anna's favorite, and Anna contorts herself to avoid hurting anyone's feelings. When Anna speaks up, the girls decide on a formalized system of parity for their group, resulting in three-way disappointment till Anna's father, a romance novelist, helps her parse the nuances of fairness. After this, the group dynamic slides into harmony in an overly convenient wrap-up. The humor is stronger in this installment than before, with poop jokes for child readers and Anna's father's job as a nugget of humor for adults helping the child readers. (Anna's mom spouts business-speak.) Anna is depicted as dark-skinned in Park's cover illustration, Isabel is Latina, and Sadie is a freckled Caucasian girl. Readers should find this gentle conflict easy to relate to. (Fiction. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.