My eldest (nearly 10) hasn't read this yet but I'll be very interested in his opinion. Don't listen to drained little me, this is just the opinion of a very-much-not-the-target-audience mum and librarian. David’s books have now exceeded 100 non-consecutive weeks in the children’s number-one spot, and have been translated into 53 languages, selling more than 35 million copies worldwide.

Londen, 1940. Brittanje is in oorlog met Nazi-Duitsland gewikkel. Die 11-jarige Eric woon by sy ouma nadat hy beide ouers in die oorlog verloor het; sy pa het gesterf toe ‘n torpedo die skip, HMS Grafton, getref het, en sy ma toe ‘n bom haar werksplek verwoes het. Ouma is streng en effe doof en maak gebruik van ‘n gehoortrompet, maar Eric, ‘n kort seuntjie met bakore en ‘n gekraakte bril, is nietemin baie lief vir haar. Sy gunsteling plek is egter die dieretuin waar sy grootoom, Sid, die opsigter is. Oom Sid het in die Eerste Wêreldoorlog albei bene verloor en moet nou oor die weg kom met ‘n geroeste paar blikbene wat aardige geluide maak. Hy en Eric deel ‘n groot liefde vir diere, veral vir Gertrude, die gorilla. Wanneer haar lewe in gevaar is, huiwer hulle dus vir geen oomblik om haar te probeer red nie. Hulle avonture met Gertrude van Londen tot by ‘n verlate kusdorpie, agtervolg deur polisie en gekonfronteer deur Nazi-spioene, al die pad tot by Downingstraat 10, word op ‘n skreeusnaakse wyse in hierdie heerlike dik boek (amper 500 bladsye) vir lesers van ses jaar en ouer vertel.

Walliams' books] are brilliantly, beautifully and seemingly effortlessly written - Mr Dahl finally has a Code Name Bananas is ondanks de setting in Wereld Oorlog II vrij onschuldig qua taalgebruik en qua aard. En toch spannend. Eric is nog vrij recent een wees geworden - allemaal door de oorlog die gaande is. Hij woont nu bij zijn oma en bezoekt graag zijn oom in de dierentuin van Londen. Dat doet hij overigens stiekem - zijn oom werkt daar en zo besparen ze geld. Hij helpt zijn oom met de dieren en heeft een speciale band gekregen met Gorilla Gertrude. Wanneer er bombardementen gehouden worden, vindt Eric dat het tijd is voor actie. Wat er volgt is een spannend avontuur om Gertrude te redden en veilig te houden in oorlogstijd. Code Name Bananas is the latest David Walliams book to hit our shelves, promising an action adventure full of hilarious moments and unforgettable characters for 2020. There are three types of gorilla – the eastern lowland, western lowland and mountain gorilla. All stuff themselves with up to 30kg of leaves, stems and fruit each day, but some also eat insects, snails and tree bark! Filled with wonderful illustrations by Tony Ross and the magical storytelling that never fails to leave little ones flushed with adventure; Code Name Bananas is an unmissable read for Christmas 2020.

Alhoewel humor ‘n kardinale rol in al Walliams se werk speel, sypel daar tog deernis en empatie deur wanneer hy Eric se gevoelens aangaande die verlies van sy ouers beskryf: ‘Dit het gevoel asof hy in ‘n droom is, of eerder ‘n nagmerrie, waarin hy onder water vasgekeer is en niemand hom sou hoor as hy gil nie.’ (64) Verskeie tegnieke om trae lesers te prikkel, word aangewend: nagtonele is wit op swart in plaas van swart op wit gedruk; geluide word in groter lettertipes aangedui en skep bykans die indruk van ‘n klankbaan wanneer woorde soos pah, woesjjj, hôôôh, grrr, krrr, doink, klonk, auuu, whuhh, ratataa en oef gelees word; die skrywer spreek die leser direk aan deur middel van voetnotas, en die illustrasies deur Tony Ross is so gedetailleerd en gepas dat dit bykans die effek van ‘n grafiese roman skep. It was the story though, the usual over-the-top stereotypes, the zany and overdone last act, and as an audiobook listener, some annoying voices that grated. Zoals gebruikelijk post ik hier ook wat over wat ik gelezen heb. Wederom een nieuwe fantastische titel van David Walliams (ik zal hem altijd voor mij zien als zijn Little Britain karakters of het feit herinneren dat hij het kanaal gezwommen heeft van de ene naar de andere kant maar dat terzijde). Sometimes, though, people felt safer sleeping on the platforms of London’s underground (Tube) train stations – it’s thought there were about 180,000 ‘Tubites’ in the capital each night.David Walliams – comedian, actor and author – continues to take the children’s literary world by storm. His tenth novel, BAD DAD, was an immediate number one, following the triumph of THE MIDNIGHT GANG, the biggest-selling children’s book of 2016. WORLD’S WORST CHILDREN 2, which published in early 2017, spent four weeks at industry number one and eight weeks at the top of the children’s chart. They have achieved unprecedented critical acclaim – and RATBURGER, DEMON DENTIST and AWFUL AUNTIE have all won the National Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year. Together with his Uncle Sid, a keeper at the zoo, the three go on the run. But while hiding out at the seaside they uncover a top-secret Nazi plot…’

When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day. Die Telegraph verwys na Walliams as ‘n waardige opvolger vir Dahl en sy wonderlike verhale kan ook nou in Afrikaans geniet word. Die oorspronklike titel was ‘Code name Banana’ en die Afrikaanse vertaling is deur Kobus Geldenhuys. I think I just miss the heart of Walliams' earliest novels. The ones that felt personal and could actually bring a tear to your eye. And the amount of celebrity authors now following in his footsteps jades me as well. Of je daarom alle boeken kan aanraden van zijn hand? Het is op gevoel handelen als bibliothecaresse want zijn boeken voelen vaak hit & miss aan. Dat betekent niet dat de miss echt mis is. Het betekent dat zijn stijlen en onderwerpen per boek kunnen wisselen. Zo vond ik Oma Boef prachtig maar gruwelde van de Tandarts (Die kon ik echt niet uitlezen eeks!). Knap. Maar een ouder klaagde dat Oma Boef te ver ging omdat het criminaliteit zou bejubellen. Tsja... Net als dat sommige werken nogal grof taalgebruik bevatten. David Walliams said, "This book is an epic comedy adventure set in World War II with an animal at the centre of the story. I hope children will fall in love with Gertrude the gorilla. There is plenty of humour, action and excitement to delight even the most reluctant reader."

Diaries & Calendars

I loved that this book was set during World War 2. This setting added a great opportunity for a little bit of history to be sprinkled into the story. The history that was featured in this story was interesting and made for some truly funny scenes.

Code Name Bananas by David Walliams is an adventure story book for Children . Unlike most books it is filled with lots of illustrations.I must say that the book was funny somehow . There where many twists that younger readers will enjoy . This book is best for children aged 7 and up . The illustrations has an important part in making the story beautiful. But I didn't Enjoy it as much as thought it to be . Anyway people interested in reading funny and satisfying stories will love it. I am a booktuber so do visit my booktube channel JP Kid Studio for Children's book Reccomentations and book review. https://youtu.be/18qzTy-0f8E. With the help of hisUncle Sid and a friendlykeeper at the zoo, the three go on the run to save their amazing Gorilla friend! Until... oh no! The ganguncover a top-secret Nazi plot... Per sort, aconsegueixen tocar el dos, però s'hauran de amagar en llocs ben estranys... fins i tot dins d'un submarí! Que potser s'han convertit en superespies? Een favoriete auteur in de schappen in de bieb, want zijn stijl doet vaak denken aan Roald Dahl. Hij weet karakters als typetjes neer te zetten die voor de kinderen zeer herkenbaar zijn en zich zo in de beleveniswereld van de kinderen te begeven. Knap, en fijn.Madcap. Zany. Quirky. Hmm. It didn't hit the spot for me at all. The woman voicing Eric didn't help, yet another grating stereotype that didn't fit. An actual child's voice would have been nice. I am a massive fan of David Walliams’ book, so I was excited to get my hands on this book. I am happy to say that this book was just as awesome as I had hoped it would be. The Blitz lasted from 7 September 1940 until 21 May 1941. Every night, cities such as London were bombed by the German air force.