Banana Sunday, BY Root Nibot, Colleen Coover ill. OR: Oni Press, Inc., 2006. ISBN: 1874959226, Q4/5P.

            This youthful and entertaining book is relatable for young readers as Kirby hopes to fit into a new school, meet new friends and stick up for herself in front of the mean girls at school. This book uses the literary device of onomatopoeia often and would be a good example for a middle school English class. Students could create their own page of actions with corresponding  onomatopoeia sounds such as “ Swoosh!  Whap! Whomp!”. With a little romance and some light-hearted sexual references this book may be disputed in more conservative circles.

-Christina Gendron, 7/20/09

Nibot, R., Coover, C., & Jones, J. L. (2006). Banana Sunday. Portland, OR: Oni Press.

ISBN: 1932664378

Art: Color, manga style drawings

Genre and Themes: Fiction, Reluctant Readers

Age Range: Grade 5-7               

What the book is about: Kirby Steinberg is the new student at school and she has brought three intelligent, speaking monkey companions with her.  The teenage drama unfolds as she tries to make new friends while keeping the identity of the monkey’s secret.

Notes: A good story for reluctant readers.

Rating: P4/Q2

JMB 05/06/08