B Is for Bananas

This is the toddler book of all toddler books, and one to leave preschoolers squealing. Laughter will be the name of the game every time this book is read; it is hilarious! A little banana is supposed to be ready for bed, but getting ready is the last thing on the menu. Written as an alphabet book, the narration is often co-opted by the little banana. "J is for jammies" is instantly corrected to its retort: "J is for jumping! Look—banana splits!" The banana is literally jumping around the page and doing the splits. Every page depicts a solid eye-appealing background color with banana in action around the featured letter. The banana speaks with speech bubbles while the adult's words are written in an oval elsewhere on the page. The sarcasm is easy to recognize and even the littlest child will understand the game. Most pages feature only one black capital letter and a word that has something to do with settling down and going to bed. There are also reminders of things to do prior to sleep like taking a bath, brushing teeth, "going" and washing hands after. Children will be worn out by this. VERDICT A must-have for all picture book collections, paired with an even more soothing title afterward.—Tracy Cronce