The Boy Who Loved Bananas

Liz Dennett is a public service librarian in the Science and Technology
Library at the University of Alberta.

Matthew loves all the animals at the zoo, but he loves the monkeys best.
He loves to watch them “climb and tumble, wrestle and swing” and
“devour dozens of ripe bananas.” Upon returning home from the zoo,
Matthew declares to his parents that all he wants to eat are bananas.
And he proceeds to eat little else for two weeks. Then, on another visit
to the zoo, Matthew gets quite itchy, starts scratching like mad, and
“KABLOOEY!” Matthew is “TRANSMOGRIFIED” into a little monkey.
“‘My goodness!’ said Matthew’s mother. / ‘My gracious!’ said
Matthew’s father. / ‘HURRAY!’ said Matthew.”

Matthew’s parents take him to doctors, veterinarians, psychiatrists,
and all sorts of other specialists, but no one is able to help.
Meanwhile his friends, and even the school principal, want to join in
the fun and start eating bananas in the hopes of becoming monkeys, too.
Then Matthew returns to the zoo and happens to see an elephant uproot a
tree. Suddenly all he wants to eat are peanuts.

This picture book is a complete charmer and has a wonderful exuberant
tone to it. The words are perfect for reading aloud and getting lots of
laughs. The pen-and-watercolour illustrations are bright and colourful,
and feature many fun details to discover and point out to other readers,
such as animals stealing people’s hats and a hapless duck slipping on
a banana peel. Highly recommended.