Michael Rex

First sentence: I'm a baaaaaaad banana! I didn't start out this way, you know. I used to be yellow! I had friends! I was part of the bunch! There was me, Lou, Debbie, and Cool Pete! We were BFFs! Banana Friends Forever. When that nice family took us home from the supermarket, we were living the dream!

Premise/plot: This early reader is narrated by a BAD banana. He's in despair since he's turning so bad. His hopes and dreams are fading hour by hour, day by day. Will he ever be eaten?????

My show more thoughts: This book is definitely decidedly odd. But is it funny? Yes, in a way. I think it ALL depends on how it's read aloud. In the hands of a good reader, a reader who can do voices, who can get characters just right, this one would easily entertain. It has great potential to appeal to young readers. show less

I find "current" picture books about politics, voting, etc. to be, well, annoying. I don't think they make any difference to kids. Maybe in a school library with some context, but not in a public library. Anyways, I was all prepared to dislike this one, but it turned out to be really good, both funny and informative, and what's more, it's actually written for kids, not adults!

The book begins, "Do you know the difference between a FACT and an OPINION?" Current evidence suggests that many show more people, adults and children, find this a confusing concept. Not to worry, robots are here to help! We'll start with some questions and statements about the robots. Is one blue? Do any of them have three eyes? These things can be proven true or false and are facts. Now for another question - which robot is the most fun? This is an opinion. It depends on who's asking, who's answering, and what your criteria are (the book does not use the word "criteria" but I totally would add it.)

The book continues asking questions, helping readers figure out the difference between a fact and an opinion, as well as showing how opinions can be made facts with more data, or can change when new and different data is added. After an argument over ice cream flavors, the robots also model respect for each other's opinions and show how they can either compromise or make their own choices.

Verdict: Rex's colorful robots, bold text, and helpful questions make this not only a great classroom resource, but a fun storytime game to play. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781984816269; Published February 2020 by Nancy Paulsen; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library show less

You'd think it would be hard to tell a story in 29 one-word sentences, but the lively art deftly fill in the gaps during an elf's stressful night of keeping an absent-minded and easily distracted Santa on task while delivering toys.

My daughter enjoyed this at four and twenty-four.

FOR REFERENCE:

Rated "Indifferent" in our old book database by Rod; rated "Good" by Adelia.

This series is still so refreshing! Wormy has had some clear character development for the better, but surprisingly, we get some character deterioration (negative character arc) for Fred.

What do you do when being kind isn't enough?

"But it's the same wherever we go. There's a big guy who makes the little people unhappy, and then the little people fight each other. Then the little people don't have any energy to face the big guy, and it's always just because someone is selfish. No one needs

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to be mean, but I guess it's the easiest way to get what you want."

"Big changes take a lot of time!"

The message is very simple: we can't make others choose to do kindness, as it's a personal choice. But we can always choose to be kind ourselves. Don't get weary in well-doing. show less