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‘A very funny rhyming story that is ideal for reading aloud, and the marvellous illustrations just add to the pleasure.’ The Letterpress Project gobbles up Iguanas Love Bananas

Karen from The Letterpress Project has written a raving review of Jennie and Chris Cladingbee’s new picture book, Iguanas Love Bananas with illustrations by Jeff Crowther;

It has taken me a while to get around to reviewing this one as my three year old grandson borrowed it, and then refused to let me have it back! I guess that is quite a compliment in itself because he has discerning taste and can be quite dismissive of picture books that he doesn’t like. I’m not surprised that it was such a hit because it is a very funny rhyming story that is ideal for reading aloud, and the marvellous illustrations just add to the pleasure.

Animals and food are two very well tried and tested subjects to grab young children’s attention so combining the two is a splendid idea. The colourful cover shows three bright green smiling iguanas climbing onto a mountain of yellow bunches of bananas with one at the summit holding the title word ‘Bananas’ aloft. Every subsequent page is a delight showing various creatures slurping the most unlikely food choices and making plenty of mess in the process. This is one of the reasons I like the book because the expressions on the faces of all the animals are blissful, and they just don’t care about getting covered in food.

I was impressed at how many different kinds of food were mentioned but as my grandson pored over each detailed illustration, he kept returning to his favourite double page spread:

‘Tufted puffins eat blueberry muffins,

           While hiding in their holes.

Though parrots

     Don’t mind carrots,

          They prefer profiteroles’.

This is one of those picture books that is set to be a classroom classic in my view because of its potential for reading aloud, as well as opportunities for finding out about various animals and trying all the different foods. By the way, it is definitely not a book promoting healthy eating but is instead about the hedonistic experience of food. Neither is it accurately describing what different creatures eat because it is fiction and fun! I will certainly be recommending it, but may need to get another copy for myself because I know someone who will need it back in his house very soon.

Thank You!
Read the full review here and buy a copy here!