Following Anna, Banana, and the Friendship Split (2015), Anna must iron out the friendship wrinkles created when her duo becomes a trio. Anna's happy to be friends with Sadie again, and she's glad to have another best friend in Isabelshe wants Sadie and Isabel to be best friends as well. Their field trip to the zoo gets off to a bad start for the three as a unit, though: the bus driver won't allow more than two to a seat, putting Anna in the position of having to pick which friend to sit with. That sets the tone for the rest of their trip, as Sadie and Isabel jockey for the position of Anna's favorite, and Anna contorts herself to avoid hurting anyone's feelings. When Anna speaks up, the girls decide on a formalized system of parity for their group, resulting in three-way disappointment till Anna's father, a romance novelist, helps her parse the nuances of fairness. After this, the group dynamic slides into harmony in an overly convenient wrap-up. The humor is stronger in this installment than before, with poop jokes for child readers and Anna's father's job as a nugget of humor for adults helping the child readers. (Anna's mom spouts business-speak.) Anna is depicted as dark-skinned in Park's cover illustration, Isabel is Latina, and Sadie is a freckled Caucasian girl. Readers should find this gentle conflict easy to relate to. (Fiction. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In Monkey, Anna finds herself in the middle of an unbalanced friendship trio; in Bet, she attempts to save her two friends from a bully by making a wager with him. Anna's diverse third-grade world is pleasant, as is the spot art scattered throughout, but Anna's voice feels a little too adult to be believable. [Review covers these titles: Anna, Banana, and the Big-Mouth Bet and Anna, Banana, and the Monkey in the Middle.] (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 3-5-The first two titles in a new chapter book series by debut author Anica Rissi feature third grader Anna, her dog Banana, and her two best friends, Sadie and Isabel. In Anna, Banana and the Friendship Split, readers meet Anna and Sadie as the two are celebrating Anna's birthday. Anna hopes to use her birthday wish on a trip to Water World, but Sadie encourages her to wish for a pony. When Anna opens a present from her grandparents, she finds a glittery pony necklace inside-her wish came true! Yet Sadie grabs the necklace, and proceeds to wear it. Anna and Sadie begin to argue and Sadie storms off-with Anna's new necklace. The rest of the book follows Anna as she alternates between being mad and feeling sad at losing Sadie as her best friend. The simple plot picks up very quickly in order to provide a resolution. In Anna, Banana and the Monkey in the Middle, Anna and Sadie have apologized and gained a mutual new best friend in Isabel. Anna is excited to go on the class trip to the zoo, but trouble quickly brews again as both Sadie and Isabel want to sit with Anna on the bus. Anna begins to realize that having two best friends can be hard. The characters begin to come into their own more in this second title, with Anna's family providing her with a strong support system and logic to help realize that "having two best friends doesn't mean cutting yourself in half to hand out two smaller pieces." Black-and-white interior artwork is included throughout both books. Fans Sara Pennypacker's Clementine, Hilary McKay's Lulu, and Anna Branford's Violet Mackerel will enjoy meeting Anna and her friends. VERDICT Consider adding in libraries where simple chapter book series are popular.-Lisa Kropp, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.