Even though this book may lack some focus, it gives exciting information about the bananas and their impact on the world. Desk and exam copies of certain titles are available to lecturers who wish to consider books as course texts. There were some cutesy metaphors I could have done without, such as when he likens gene splicing to splicing together reels of film, producing “the best qualities of both: Rhett Butler played by Harrison Ford and Scarlet O’Hara with a cinnamon-bun hairstyle. And unless a solution is found and accepted by the eating populace, banana will likely become something we will be telling our grandchildren about that they will never experience.

This is a very simple, exceptionally lively book, with zinging, energetic colours and two extremely expressive characters. I generally manage to avoid this feeling by choosing my reading material wisely, but this one managed to slip through somehow. Learning that Panama disease is the leading threat to bananas is interesting, but this becomes fascinating when the book combines this with the downfall of Guatemala’s leader, Arbenz.Ed is also a painter, working from his studio in East London and is represented by galleries in London and Los Angeles. Because Panama disease was permanently making fallow so much of its existing holdings, the fruit companies had a continuous need for new land, according to John Soluri, author of Banana Cultures: Agriculture, Consumption, and Environmental Change in Honduras and the United States. For example, Chapter 12, which focuses on the ambitious rise of banana entrepreneur Samuel Zemurray, is followed by a three-page exposition on Tin Pan Alley and the genesis of the song “Yes, We Have No Bananas. The limited use of words and the very clear and animated illustrations allows the reader to make the story what they want and allows children to interact and be creative in the process.

With its gruff hero, vibrant, strong colours, bold design and spare text, this story about looking beyond appearances has a satisfying punchy simplicity and jazzy feel. But e verything is in short supply in London and no one’s even seen a banana for years, so how is Susan going to find one? Encourages face-to-face interaction with your child, promoting facial expressions, emotions, strong eye contact and mimicking.

S. government needs to take a hard line with these companies and mandate political changes to make this happen.