Banana Books Series

Follow the Swallow

by Julia Donaldson

Published 1 May 2000

- full-color illustrations on every page provide a recognizable format for children

Animals in School

by Garry Parsons, Lucy Richards, and Julia Donaldson

Published 5 December 2011

Two fantastic animal tales from Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson brought together in one volume for the first time.

The Quick Brown Fox Cub Frisk the fox is a curious cub who just loves exploring! What will he discover when he follows Jenny to school one day? The Wrong Kind of Bark Finlay's a real dreamer, and he's always getting things wrong. So when he brings his puppy into class, it looks like he's heading for big trouble!

Julia Donaldson’s funny and engaging chapter books are part of Egmont’s Red Banana series. Banana books not only offer young readers great stories but play an important role in their education. Suitable for NC Level 3, they are ideal for improving literacy, learning about important social issues, and, above all, developing confidence in their own reading ability.

Swallows and Spiders

by Julia Donaldson

Published 5 December 2011

The Gruffalo, for Egmont's Blue Banana series. In Follow the Swallow Chack the blackbird needs to get a message to his friend Apollo the swallow. But Apollo is far away in Africa. In Spinderella a spider longs to learn about numbers, but everyone thinks she's silly. Luckily for Spinderella, her Hairy Godmother has a plan...Blue bananas are illustrated books for NC Level 2 readers learning to tackle longer prose for the first time with the support of extensive illustrations and speech bubbles. They are carefully designed with education in mind, supporting children's understanding of vocabulary and punctuation. Blue Bananas explore the feelings and emotions of characters in a clear fashion.

The Wrong Kind of Bark

by Julia Donaldson

Published 4 March 2004

A lovely, funny chapter book about a little boy and his puppy by Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, for Egmont’s Red Banana series.

Finlay is a real dreamer, and he’s always getting things wrong. But when he brings his puppy into class it looks like he might have done the right thing after all.

Red bananas are chapter books for newly fluent readers, suitable for NC Level 3 readers. They are carefully designed with education in mind, supporting children’s understanding of how to read longer books. Red bananas introduce similes and wordplay to encourage an understanding of more literary concepts.

Spinderella

by Julia Donaldson

Published 1 September 2002

When Spinderella and her seven spider siblings want to play soccer, she, along with her Hairy Godmother, must convince the others that numbers are important. Includes facts and activities relating to numbers and soccer.

Spooky Soccer

by Garry Parsons

Published 3 May 2010

A fun and quirky story against anything but your average team from Malachy Doyle for Egmont's red banana series. When Seamus and his scaredy-ba Granda go for a night-time walk, they don't expect to find a group of ghosts in an old barn. Greg the Ghoul, Phantom Pete and friends are too scared to go up into heaven, in case they are sent back down to hell, so they are just waiting around in the barn, getting bored. Seamus has an idea to relieve their boredom - they should form a football team and play other ghosts! The ghosts are nervous, but Seamus and his Granda help them get fit and improve their game. Soon they are champion players, powering their way through teams on earth, heaven and even hell! Red bananas are chapter books for newly fluent readers, suitable for NC Level 3 readers. They are carefully designed illustrated books for both entertainment and education, supporting children's understanding of how to read longer books. Red bananas introduce similes and wordplay to encourage an understanding of more literary concepts.

The Quick Brown Fox Cub

by Julia Donaldson

Published 5 September 2005

A sweet chapter book about an adventurous fox cub by Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, for Egmont's Red Banana series.

Frisk the fox cub loves exploring! When he and his family move house, he finds lots of exciting things to discover in town. Then he follows Jenny to school one day, and what he learns there comes in very useful.

Red bananas are chapter books for newly fluent readers, suitable for NC Level 3 readers. They are carefully designed with education in mind, supporting children's understanding of how to read longer books. Red bananas introduce similes and wordplay to encourage an understanding of more literary concepts.

The Football Ghosts

by Garry Parsons and Malachy Doyle

Published 6 August 2007

A boy-friendly, funny football story by Malachy Doyle and Garry Parsons for Egmont’s Red Banana series.

Seamus loves two things - United and ghosts! So when he hears that the spooky old castle on the hill has ghosts playing football in it, he’s up there in a flash! Well, as quickly as he can go with his scaredy-ba Granda in tow. Once they get into the castle, Seamus discovers that there are two teams kicking a ball around there - the 1948 United and Rovers cup final teams, doomed to play on until they hear the final whistle. And guess what Seamus has in his pocket? But first, there’s the chance to beat the Rovers, with Seamus the star striker in place!