Code Name Bananas

by David Walliams, Nitin Ganatra (Read by), Toby Jones (Read by), Genevieve Gaunt (Read by), Adjoa Andoh (Read by)

Overview

The UK's #1 bestselling children's author, David Walliams, is back with a thrilling historical adventure with life-or-death stakes—chock-full of Walliams’s unmistakable humor and perfect for fans of Stuart Gibbs and Gordon Korman.

1940. BRITAIN IS AT WAR WITH NAZI GERMANY.

Eleven-year-old Eric practically lives at the London Zoo. And there’s one animal in particular he loves to spend time with: Gertrude the gorilla.

But with German bombs raining over London, Eric realizes Gertrude is in terrible danger, and 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…

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798212209977
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/11/2023
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

David Walliams is the New York Times bestselling author of Demon Dentist, The Midnight Gang, and Grandpa's Great Escape. His novels have sold over eighteen million copies worldwide and have been translated into over fifty-three languages. David’s books have achieved unprecedented critical acclaim—with many reviewers comparing him to his all-time hero, Roald Dahl. In addition to being a bestselling author, David is an actor, comedian, and television personality. In 2017, he was awarded an OBE for services to charity and the arts. He lives in the UK.

Distinguished stage, television, and film actor Toby Jones was born in Hammersmith, London to actors Freddie Jones and Jennifer Heselwood. He studied Drama at the University of Manchester, and at L’École Internationale de Théâtre in Paris. His career began on the stage (and continues there), but film and television roles came soon after his studies. Toby made his film debut with a small role in Sally Potter‘s experimental take on Virginia Woolf‘s novel, Orlando, starring Tilda Swinton. Recently, he has had roles in the Hunger Games films and the Captain America films.

Genevieve Gaunt is an actress, known for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Knightfall, The Royals, and Dusty and Me.

Peter Serafinowicz is an award-winning English actor, writer, voice-artist, comedian, and director. He has appeared in films such as Shaun of the Dead and Couples Retreat. As a voice artist his roles have ranged from Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace to Driver Dan in the CBeebies program StoryTrain.

Adjoa Andoh is an Audie Award and Earphones Award–winning narrator and an actress of British film, television, stage, and radio. In 2022, she was awarded the AudioFile Golden Voice Award. She is known on the UK stage for lead roles at the RSC, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, and the Almeida Theatre, and she is a familiar face on British television. She made her Hollywood debut starring as Nelson Mandela’s chief of staff, Brenda Mazikubo, alongside Morgan Freeman as Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s Invictus.

Sarah Alexander earned a Master's degree in Creative Writing from London's Birkbeck College in 2013. Some previous jobs include: tomato picker, travel consultant, mental-health support worker and suitcase administrator. Sarah lives in London with her husband and two chickens. THE ART OF NOT BREATHING is her first novel.

Wayne Forester is an actor and voice-over artist known for his work on Captain Scarlet, Timesplitters: Future Perfect, Renaissance, and The Fimbles. He is a keen private pilot and in his spare time he enjoys flying light aircraft, his preferred mode of transport. He lives in London with his wife Béatrice and their daughter Amélie.

Editorial Reviews

"Fans of Walliams’ previous outings will find themselves on similar ground here, and new readers, especially those who love toilet humor, will happily go along with the madcap zaniness." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2023-04-12
Some plans are bananas from beginning to end.

Eleven-year-old Eric Grout is a victim of the times, having lost both his parents to World War II—his father at Dunkirk and his mother when the factory where she worked sewing parachutes was bombed. He’s left with two relatives: his nearly deaf paternal Granny, with whom he goes to live, and Uncle Sid, his maternal great-uncle, who is a zookeeper at London Zoo. Eric takes joy in assisting Uncle Sid, and his favorite animal is by far Gertrude, the old gorilla who has a knack for mimicking Eric’s gestures, often to the delight of the wartime crowds. When, during the Blitz, tragedy strikes again, Eric and Uncle Sid are left trying to save Gertrude from being euthanized by overzealous zoo director Sir Frederick Frown and his horrendous henchmen. Television personality Walliams isn’t afraid to throw everything and the kitchen sink at readers, so be prepared for terrifying Teutonic twins, grand escapes, tea with royals, and a lot of smelly body humor. Fans of Walliams’ previous outings will find themselves on similar ground here, and new readers, especially those who love toilet humor, will happily go along with the madcap zaniness. Sticklers will point out one or two inconsistencies along the way, such as a disregard for wartime rationing, but logic and kooky camp rarely coexist. All characters read White.

Readers will go ape. (historical notes) (Adventure. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews