Book Description

There's never been anyone quite like Annie Bananie. So when she has to move away, her playmate cannot believe it -- until she realizes that even far apart, they can still be best friends.

Reviews (8)

Bookmobile best seller
Annie Bananie is the narrator's best friend. They have wild times together, parading around dressed up as queens and tickling bumblebees. But Annie is moving away, and the narrator mourns her departure by reminding her of all the good times they've had together. This is a funny, yet sad story of a kind loss that many kids must face at a young age when they are just making friends for the first time. It is a best seller on the local bookmobile. It has about 200 words.

this book helps so much!!
This book may be a children's book yet it can help people of all ages. Right now i am 17 years old and my bestest friend in the world is gonna move. i couldnt deal with it at first and then a fellow student recommended this book. not only did i read it but i bought it for my friend for her to cherish so she can see how i feel. it is a great book!

Best children's book ever!
My mother purchased this book for me when I was four years old to help during the transition of moving, and leaving my best friend behind. Now that I am almost 17 it continues to be my favorite children's book. It pocesses the central idea of the innocence of a childhood friendships and how important friendships are in general. I feel this story also reveals a unique element of hope that exists inside everyone.

Never forget how important your friends are
I read this book with my preschool class and it reminded me about how important my friends are to me. They laughed through the whole thing and appreciated it in a much different way than I did although I did laugh a lot too!

Pleasure to read, our 4-yr old loved this story!
Though I'm sure our daughter picked the book initially for the colorful photos from the library, we all came to enjoy this story. Given the subject, we found the text silly and fun. This book seemed to be a good tool not only for understanding the loss of a friend moving but also for understanding the value of true good friends. I enjoyed the imaginative antics of the two friends and the creative illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description

The Boris Avenue Beauties Dog Club came to order. Annie Bananie and her friend Bonnie told about the times each of them had been to the hospital. Bonnie announced that since Annie and she had both been hurt, they should form a new club of their own: the Pain Sisters.

Their friend Libby desperately wants to join. When Grandma Gert shows her Grandpa Larry's gallstones in the dresser drawer, Libby hatches her plan. She just has to become a Pain Sister!
... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Pain Sisters - lying hurts, too!
A beginning chapterbook which tells of Libby's plan to get into "The Pain Sisters," a group where it's two members have had numerous injuries.After faking a gall stone procedure, Libby realizes that lyinghurts more than injuries. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A great book to read
I think it is a good book because it tells about how people make friends. Libby was bored until Annie Bananie moved to Barry Avenue. In the beginning Annie really likes Libby, but Libby thinks Annie Bananie is a little weird. But by the end they both like each other. Libby's grandma hates dogs, but she kisses Annie Bananie's dog so that Libby could be president of their dog club. And Libby was never bored again. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Annie Bananie is off to a new school, but is she worried? Hardly. Not only did she meet lots of kids over the summer, not only does she have a particularly adorable best-friend dog, and not only does she already know her teacher will be Mrs. Liebling, absolutely the coolest teacher at her new school. Nope, that's not all.

Annie also has half the girls in her grade begging to be her best friend. With hilarity, accuracy, and compassion, author Leah Komaiko captures the agony and competition endemic to these early best-friend courtships. Girls will love watching this sensible, personable character cope with such enthusiastic hot pursuit; their parents will find it all highly instructive. (For ages 7-10) ... Read more

Reviews (3)

This Book Is The Most Terrible Book I Ever Read!!!
This book was very bad. I agree with the horn book review. Not only do the characters behave terribly, (they ridicule classmates all the time) but they have disgusting habits. One behaves like a cat, another grunts like a pig, another acts like a horse. I would of thought this class was actually made up of ranchers in disguise, (the first day the teacher is dressed like a cowgirl, and 'Annie Bananie' brings her dog to school) but there is also a boy nicknamed Snowman who picks dandruff off his scalp all day, then eats it. This, of course, is enormusly disgusting. But it isn't the only sickening part in the book. Near the end, Annie Bananie vomits on a classmate's back. It also has very unrealistic factors. The classmates hurt feelings in front of the teacher, and she doesn't do anything. When Annie vomits on Libby's back, she seemed to not do anything to prevent it. And when Annie starts vomiting again, does she move away from Libby? No. She just continues barfing on Libby's (her 'Lucky Lunch' partner, and friend) back. At the end, Annie said, "Only a best friend would not be mad if someone vomits on their back." Well, a best friend wouldn't simply let her self throw up on a friend's back, would she?

This book also encourages lying and teasing, which some character does on each chapter. It also encourages cliques and 'popularity', because if you noticed, all the girls compete for Annie's friendship, and all classmates swarm around her like flies swarm around garbage. Although it is sweet how Libby wanted to give Annie Bananie the perfect lunch, this just gives an example of the competition and popularity factor. It is also nice how Libby spends her money sock money to give Annie the perfect meal at Buffalo Bills, but not nice enough to make up for all the other faults. Also, the main character Libby lise to everyone from family to friends. My closing statement are that Leah Komaike (author of this book) obviously has no writing talent at all, that this book has no good plot(and the plot this book has is extremely uninteresting,) and not to waste your money on a cheap book you will be deeply disapointed with.

A Great Lesson in Cruelty
We listened to this one in book-on-tape form, and the kids (6, 8 & 11) were very disappointed. As homeschoolers, I am often told that I'm not preparing my kids for the "real world." This book is proof that incarcerating 30 age-mates is not the "real world." My kids were shocked at how cruel the kids were to each other, the lies they told to each other, their teacher, and their families. They were even more disappointed that the children were not punished for their actions.

Even for someone who is pro-traditional school, I would not recommend this book. Lucky Lunch Day is a very unlikely event in this day of closed campuses. The meanness displayed in it should not be glorified in the search to "fit in." The message given was that it's acceptable to do whatever it takes to have a "best friend."

An awful book
Horn Book reviews are 99% on target. I was looking for a good series for Grade 1. What a disappointment. All of the characters seemed stereotypes and some were rude. One character calls another "mental." An example of poor writing. ... Read more