Banana Bop!

Sandra Boynton is a popular American cartoonist, children’s author, songwriter, producer, and director. Since 1974, Boynton has written and illustrated over eighty-five children’s books and seven general audience books, including five New York Times bestsellers. More than 90 million of her books have been sold, “mostly to friends and family,” she says. She has also written (with Michael Ford) and produced seven albums of renegade children’s music. Three of her seven albums have been certified Gold (over 500,000 copies sold) and Philadelphia Chickens, nominated for a Grammy, has been certified Platinum (over 1 million copies sold). Boynton has also directed many music videos of her songs, including the award-winning “One Shoe Blues” starring B.B. King, “Alligator Stroll” starring Josh Turner, and “Tyrannosaurus Funk” (animated) sung by Samuel L. Jackson. She lives in rural New England, and her studio is in a barn with perhaps the only hippopotamus weathervane in America.

"This buoyant banana-oriented board book from Boynton (Hippos Remain Calm) celebrates what every kid inherently knows: that bananas are delicious as well as supremely silly. This is especially true when the fruit is being feted by four monsters rendered in the creator’s signature style. As the work opens, three large beings with round noses, pointy horns, and fluffy pale fur appear alongside one considerably smaller entity, who proudly adds a final bit of zhuzh to the bigger critters’ declamatory dialogue. “Banana. Banana. Banana,” the larger three announce, each holding a banana aloft— “BOP!” adds the little monster. As the pages turn, the crew demonstrates the fruit’s versatility, showing how bananas can stand in for frowns, smiles, and even telephones (“ARE YOU THERE? HELLO? HELLO?// We’re calling from our MONSTER SHOW!” say the big monsters, while the small one chimes in “LA LA!”). The book ends by asking the reader to count to four while the monsters eat the fruits, gleefully placing the peels on their heads. The snacking may result in “BYE-BYE!” bananas, but the target audience will almost assuredly demand further reads."