- Picture Books
- Ages 3–7
- Comedy
If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone
A cheerfully absurd picture book built around the irresistible idea of a banana becoming a telephone. The Emily Hughes illustrations make the silliness feel lush, warm, and inviting rather than throwaway.
- Best for3–7
- FormatPicture
- Length48 pp
- Read aloud~10 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Repetitive
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Warm
- Whimsical
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
A banana phone sounds like a ridiculous thing to use, but once a call is made, the world opens up in wonderfully silly ways. Animals, children, and unlikely callers are drawn into a playful chain of connection, turning a simple joke into a warm story about imagination and friendship. Gideon Sterer gives the book a light, read-aloud-friendly premise, while Emily Hughes fills the pages with expressive detail, texture, and comic personality. This is not a heavy message book; it is a playful, visual, slightly surreal picture book that understands how funny children find ordinary objects used in the wrong way. It should work particularly well for shared reading, nursery groups, and families who like books with a strong central gag.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 3–7
- Read aloud · 3–7
- Independent · 6–8
Prose load
Light
Visual support
High
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
4 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
5 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Silly read aloud
- Nursery group read
- Banana gag
- Beautifully illustrated comedy
- Low stakes fun
Avoid if
- Wants realistic story
- Needs plot heavy book
- Prefers quiet bedtime only
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A wildly imaginative, funny read-aloud — a story-time delight that sparks silliness.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific delight is the chain reaction — a banana becoming a telephone, the call setting off a sequence of animal and child and unlikely callers, the whole thing landing in the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie tradition. The Sterer / Emily Hughes read-aloud built around the silliest possible idea.
- Breaking the rules safely
- Friendship and belonging
- Cosy safety
Why parents love it
The Gideon Sterer / Emily Hughes — chain-reaction picture book, Hughes's lush textured illustration giving the gag warmth rather than throwaway. Reliable shared-reading and nursery-group read-aloud.
- Shared humour
- Beautiful illustrations
- Quick to read
- Indie gem discovery
About the creators
About the creators.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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