Hello, friends! Our book today is Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas by Aaron Blabey, the delightfully silly tale of Brian, a piranha with a unique appetite.

As Brian swims towards his piranha pals, they are aghast at what he has with him: a banana. He offers it to his cohorts, who are simply offended. Not discouraged, Brian offers various other fruits and veggies instead, his friends declining emphatically each time – they are PIRANHAS, who eat meat (preferably that of unsuspecting swimmers). At last, Brian convinces his pals to just try some of his delicious fruit, and they begrudgingly go into a feeding frenzy over it. However, they are surprised to find that the fruit is indeed yummy – but still not as yummy as swim trunk-covered bums…

Silly and fun, with a subtle message about eating a balanced diet mixed in. Brian’s unrelenting cheerfulness set against the increasing exasperation of the other piranhas is hilarious, and older kids will love the slightly-but-not-too dark comedy of the hapless swimmers/soon-to-be piranha chow (though, keep in mind, younger kids may be a little troubled about humans about to become lunch). The rhyming text is a lot of fun, even if the main rhyme (piranha-banana) doesn’t quite work as well in an American accent. The illustrations are funny and oddly adorable, the length was great, and JJ loved it. A whimsical tale for the omnivore in all of us, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!