Reviewed by Dianne Bates
David Walliams, who is being hailed as ‘the
new Roald Dahl’, has published numerous humorous books for young readers which
have become bestsellers. His
latest, Code Name Bananas, is a whizz-bang epic action adventure for all the family!
1940. Britain is at war with Germany. As bombs rain down on the city, orphan
boy Eric forms an extraordinary friendship with a remarkable gorilla: Gertrude.
Eric’s mission
is code named Bananas as he and his uncle Sid (who has tin legs) flee from
London to Bogis Regis with Gertrude who is scheduled for a needle to save her
life. The escape involves the three in a flying truck, powered by oxygen, which
is attacked by Nazi fighter planes. They finish up in Seaview Towers, a hotel
staffed by two women who Eric discovers are Nazis planning to ensure the death
of Churchill.
This is
a book with relentless, not-stopping-for-a-moment action. There are frequent
and different type faced action words scattered throughout the book which
breaks up the look of the pages. And too, there are frequent black and white cartoon
illustrations by Tony Ross.
Most children
will love ‘naughty’ sentences such as ‘I’ve got a great big baboon’s bottom in
my face’ and ‘A gorilla burp is bad enough, but a gorilla bottom burp in
something else. You need a gas mask to survive it.’
Without doubt, this book is exciting, filled
with fast-paced drama and readers
are sure to become engrossed in the story. At
480 pages, it’s a hefty book, but
it’s also imbued with historical facts about
World War 11. At the end are notes
on the real wartime Britain, including information
about the war, Hitler, the’
blitz, the Dunkirk evacuation, London Zoo, Winston
Churchill and Buckingham
Palace.
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