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Summary
Summary
Such a little banana causing such a big pile of trouble! How could it be? First the grocer, then the painter, next the bicycle messenger, and then -- oh, no -- not the baby in the carriage! An entire town turned upside down, all by a banana peel!
Caldecott Medal-winning artist David Small and award-winning author Jennifer Armstrong have created a roller-coaster ride of a picture book told in rhyming street signs that will tickle and delight readers from beginning to end and over and over again.
Author Notes
Jennifer Armstrong, a noted author of historical fiction, including "Black-Eyed Susan" & "The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan", lives in Saratoga Springs, New York.
(Publisher Provided)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 4-A bustling urban setting forms the backdrop for this tale of a juggler whose monkey unpeels a banana. Sixteen words on city signs form rhymed pairs that help propel the mayhem once the slip-up starts. Small's cast of diverse characters stage a complex string of perilous consequences until all ends well. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Armstrong (Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat) and Small (So You Want to be President?) join forces for this sublimely silly wordless story, which brings to mind a silent short by Laurel and Hardy (who make a cameo appearance). The action gets underway even before the title page, when a street juggler's pet monkey runs off and steals a deli's outdoor stall. Blithely ignoring the sign reading "Please put litter in its place," the monkey tosses the banana peel on the sidewalk, thus triggering a book-long, slapstick-rich chase that covers an entire city center and ensnares a cavalcade of characters, including a passel of dogs, an airborne baby and a banana-packed dump truck. The running joke is that none of the street signs meant to impose order on urban life ("4 way stop," "Keep off the grass!" "Look both ways") has any effect on damping the mounting chaos, and in the twist ending, the juggler winds up a hero. Small's loose yet precise ink lines and watercolor wash seem ideal for these crowded streets where anarchy abounds. He clearly relishes choreographing the huge, motley cast and effortlessly connects the geography of one spread to another; the pages overflow with enough pratfalls and comic asides to reward many readings. Even the closing endpapers play a role, tracing the chain of events. Ages 4-8. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Take a juggler, a mischievous monkey, a banana peel, and a man on a ladder, and put them on a busy city street. What will happen next? Small's energetic line-and-watercolor paintings take us through a delightful circuit of slapstick chaos. Armstrong's concept could easily have been presented wordlessly, but instead we see caveats of impending disaster, one on each double-page spread, in the form of rhyming signs: ""Please Put Litter in Its Place / No Parking in This Space / Caution! Wet Paint! / Office of Complaint."" When a man slips on the monkey's banana peel, a chain reaction begins that involves every person and dog in the neighborhood and -- in the spirit of all good chase sequences -- the use of every available wheeled vehicle (grocery cart, skateboard, baby carriage). Sharp-eyed readers will enjoy spotting individual people and dogs as they are drawn in to the scene, first as bystanders and then as they fall prey to the increasing mayhem. The final endpapers reveal the larger picture, providing an aerial view of the circular action that shows it all happening within a couple of blocks, with dotted lines indicating the sequence of events. A large trim size and bold art will make this book appealing in a group setting, but its full impact will be realized on repeat solo viewings. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
In a tour de force of visual sequencing captioned only by a set of rhyming street and shop signs, Small sets up a hilarious chain of events along a busy city street. The action starts on the front endpapers as a street performer's monkey snatches a banana from a fruit stand and tosses the peel onto the sidewalk. This sets off an escalating ruckus that moves around the block (and is actually mapped out on the rear endpapers), involving pedestrians, a painter atop a ladder, cars and trucks, dogs (lots of dogs), much flying through the air and a hurtling carriage with a delighted baby on board (for part of the way, anyway). Composed in fluent pen lines and watercolor brushwork, the scenes are chock full of comically dismayed characters, and surprisingly easy to follow despite the frenetic activity. In addition, for all its brevity, the text sets up a strong background rhythm--"4-Way Stop / Barber Shop / One-Way Street / NO BARE FEET"--that complements the breathless visual pacing. Ultimately, a disastrous encounter between a careening garbage truck and an entire shipment of bananas brings the tale back to where it began, whereupon all of the participants, human and otherwise, gather in a closing spread for an amicable bananafest. More fun than a barrel of . . . well. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A rambunctious monkey gets away from his juggler and grabs a banana from a shopkeeper's display. And so it begins. Tossing the peel aside, he watches as he sets off a chain of bumbling, tumbling events. A Hell's Angels type slips on the peel, causing a ladder to tremble, knocking off the painter, who falls into a shopping cart, which causes a traffic jam . . and so it goes, with dogs barking, people falling, and the juggler chasing the monkey throughout the oversize pages. This wordless picture book has a lot going for it: a frenetic energy that translates to the page, interesting perspectives and bird's-eye views, and all the while capturing the excitement at this series of unfortunate events. Readers, however, will have to be old enough to understand and follow the domino effect of the action (and know what it means to slip on a banana peel). Happily, Small's sprightly artwork, executed in ink and watercolor, is just made for a second look. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2006 Booklist