Banana Banana Meatball

PreS-Gr 2–In the “GoNoodle” series, and based on a popular video and song about patterns, the three members of the Blazer Fresh Crew are going to school. In this school, they start singing and discussing patterns with students in class and other parts of the building. The children are significantly younger than they are, but readers will be left to guess about this, as no context is provided. In the lunchroom, the members of the crew, all Black older teens in modern dress, offer a suggestion: “Make a pattern, make a pattern. Let’s make a pattern! Okay, here’s one: Banana, banana, meatball. Banana, banana, meatball.” They continue making patterns throughout the day with different sounds and dance moves. The vibrant cartoon illustrations bring the rhymes to life and compensate for the narrative’s inherent limitations. Absent of detailed character descriptions, and with no discernible plot, the book, originating from a song, caters primarily to children familiar with pattern concepts and to people familiar with the video.