Banana Books or Champ Books from 1980s

These are two favourites from this old series - sadly now all out of print although you can buy Freckle Juice in a different edition. If you have any of these in your library collection please hold onto them and take another look to see if the story will appeal to your students. The books themselves were made with a sturdy design and with really good paper which you will find has not turned yellow with age.

Blurb about the series: "A series of bright, funny, brilliantly imaginative stories written by some of today's top writers especially for newly fluent readers. All of the books are beautifully illustrated throughout with full colour pictures."

In the mid 1980s Mammoth and then Heinemann published a series of small format, hardcover beginning chapter books with full colour illustrations. I had many of the titles in one of my school libraries and they were very popular. Some of the best UK and US authors and illustrators contributed to the series. There are lots of books in this series I have never seen and I am guessing there may have been as many as fifty titles published.

Here are a few famous names: Joan Aiken; Judy Blume; Kevin Crossley-Holland; Anne Fine; Mary Hoffman; Rose Impey; Gene Kemp; Dick King-Smith; Sheila Lavelle; Penelope Lively; Michael Morpurgo; Ann Pilling; Chris Powling; Mary Rayner; and Jean Ure.

I did find one by an Australian author - Gillian Rubenstein - Peanut the Ponyrat. I wonder what this one is about?

Originally these little yellow books were called Banana Books but I seem to recall a dispute about this name and so later they were reprinted under the series name Champ Books and eventually some were available in paperback. You may also be confused by another series called Banana Books which came in colours such as Blue Bananas; Red Bananas; Green Bananas etc. Here is a mixed list which includes some original Banana and Champ titles along with Yellow Bananas (Egmont).

Here are some covers:

I was lucky to pick up two Champ books recently. Here are some details:

Planet of the Jumping Bears by Brian Earnshaw illustrated by Caroline Crossland (1990)

Why did I enjoy this book?  It is Science Fiction. YES, it is Science Fiction for a very young reader. This book is a terrific way to introduce this genre. 

Blurb: "Flying in their spaceship, Wind Wanderer, the twins make a crash landing on the Desert Planet. Here two rare breeds of animals, the brown and grey Jumping Bears, are threatened with starvation. Wind Wanderer's crew must repair their ship and save the bears if they are to keep up the record of IARS - the Intergalactic Animal Rescue Service."

Are you gasping!  All of this complex plot in an easy chapter book. I read it in one gulp having been quickly swept into the space adventure. In 1990 we did not have Google maps but they feature in this story with a slightly different name of Map Video. I love that the kids save the bears using pumpkins super glue called Resin-Steel. I now discover there was a sequel called "Next Stop Wildstar" (1994). There were several Banana Champ books in the Science Fiction genre for example The Moon Monster by Douglas Hill; and Jupiter Boots by Jenny Nimmo.

The Phantom Carwash by Chris Powling illustrated by Jean Baylis.

Why did I enjoy this book?  The wish for a carwash, a real one, a full sized one, seems utterly impossible and yet this dream does come true. "Superwash - use it if you dare. Transforms any vehicle. Insert a five-penny piece, a two-penny piece and a penny, strictly in that order." This reminded me of the Solo book Green Fingers by Emily Rodda and also Mike's Magic Seeds by Dick King-Smith. If you read the instructions you know you are in for a surprise. Some things will go into the carwash and come out better but some might go in and come out wrecked especially if those instructions are not faithfully followed.

Blurb: "Lenny dreams of getting a real carwash for Christmas, but he knows he'll have to do without. He thinks his Gran is mad when she tells him to write to Santa Claus - but when something strange turns up on the wasteground near his home, he begins to wonder if she was right after all."

Here are a few more which might still be in a Primary school library:

If you have the chance to look for some Banana or Champ titles try to find Amina's Blanket by Helen Dunmore; Lightning Fred by Dick King-Smith; Imp by Marjorie Dark; Sasha and the Bicycle thieves by Errol Lloyd; Yob by Dick King-Smith; and if you can find The Unicorn Dream by Douglas Hill I'd love to see it along with Alien on the 99th Floor by Jenny Nimmo and A hole in the Pole by Chris D'Lacey.