BOOKMONGER
Picture books share positive problem-solving
‘The Power of One’ and
‘Second Banana’ come from
Portland creatives
I believe January has been an unsettling
month, following a deeply fractious 2020.
As a counterbalance to the tumult that
prevails in the daily news, I’ve taken to
indulging a few minutes every day in the
solace of children’s picture books. The
lively illustrations and minimalist stories
convey joy and wisdom.
Two picture books — “The Power of
One” and “Second Banana” — have been
produced with the involvement of Portland
creative folk.
Picture books are frequently a team
effort between an author and an illustra-
tor. In “Second Banana,” the text was writ-
ten by Blair Thornburgh. The pictures
come from Kate Berube, who is the Port-
14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
This Week’s Book
‘Second Banana’ by Blair Thornburg, illus-
trated by Kate Berube
Abrams Books — 32 pp — $16.99
‘The Power of One’ by Trudy Ludwig, illus-
trated by Mike Curato
Knopf Publishing — 40 pp — $17.99
land-based half of this endeavor.
The story focuses on a young, curly-
haired girl whose class is putting on the
annual “Food Is Fun Healthy Eating Good
Nutrition Pageant.” That’s a mouthful right
there.
This production is a class highlight
because each student gets to wear a dis-
tinctive fruit or vegetable costume and
have a speaking part. But this year, when
it turns out that there are more students
than speaking parts, the teacher solves the
problem by getting an additional banana
costume.
Both our curly-haired girl and another
student have been assigned the banana role
and a banana costume. They’ve been told
that they will divide up the banana line.
Our heroine gets the end of the sentence:
“has potassium, too.” So she is, in effect,
the second banana.
While this is a crushing disappointment
to the curly-headed girl, it turns out that
the fi rst banana has a different but equally
unenthusiastic reaction. When the two
bananas have a chance to talk it over, they
fi gure out a solution that pleases everyone.
Using ink, paint and colored pencil,
Berube has devised appealing characters
that have a hint of the qualities found in
the late, great Maurice Sendak’s work. The
illustrations are a cheery addition to this
story about creative problem-solving.
“The Power of One” was written by
Portland author Trudy Ludwig, who has
built a body of work around anti-bullying
themes. The lush mixed media illustrations
that accompany her text were created by
Mike Curato.
Ludwig crafts a thoughtful demonstra-
tion around the power that everyone has
to make a difference. While we sometimes
may feel insignifi cant, Ludwig suggests we
think about the strength that one friend can
provide with a smile, apology or hug.
Every nurturing act can initiate a pos-
itive chain reaction — just imagine if
everyone were to take that message to
heart.
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd
McMichael, who writes this weekly column
focusing on the books, authors and pub-
lishers of the Pacifi c Northwest. Contact
her at bkmonger@nwlink.com