Fred Pinsocket Loves Bananas

A spaceman boldly proclaims his love for Earth’s appealing yellow fruit in this board-book debut by singer/songwriter Apel.

Fred Pinsocket flies a rocket around the universe, plays keytar and drums, and has a passion for bananas. The rhymes here are the lyrics to Apel’s song of the same title, which he offers as a free download with the purchase of the book. The lyrics are silly enough without the music, but with the tune and sound effects, children will be sure to enjoy it; as a result, they’ll likely want to play the music and read the book repeatedly. Fred, with his bulbous nose, enormous eyes, red spacesuit, and blue helmet with a satellite dish on top, is a likable little guy, and creative, early-grade readers who pick up this book may even attempt their own drawings of him. Very young readers will enjoy the repeated phrases: “I love bananas. I love them. Yum! Yum! Yum!” The rhyme scheme is steady throughout, with the addition of extra phrases that make better sense with the instrumentation. The only challenging words are Fred’s last name and “potassium”—but even if kids don’t know what the latter means, they’re still likely to sing or repeat the word, as it rhymes with “yum.” The board book’s sturdy pages, with their brightly colored backgrounds, will hold up to the rereadings that 3- to 5-year-olds may require. Adults may not be as excited about repeating the same lyrics again and again, particularly when the sparse word count includes four repetitions of the chorus. Young readers, however, will giggle over and over again, and the images of Fred’s rocket towing a ball of bananas will bring a smile to even the stingiest adult’s face.

Families that enjoy repetitive songs, such as “The Wheels on the Bus,” will be glad to throw this fruit-eating space traveler into their mix.