Anna, Banana, and the recipe for disaster
Anica Mrose Rissi
Anna, Banana, and the recipe for disaster
Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide
by Anica Mrose Rissi
Illustrated by Park, Meg, illustrator
The text is written at a 4th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for middle graders (ages 9–12), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material.
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About This Book
What happens when a baking contest turns into a friendship challenge? Anna and Banana are ready to whip up the best cookies for the library bake sale, but new friends and jealousy make the kitchen a tricky place. Can Anna find the secret ingredient to save her friendship?
Themes
Quick Assessment
This middle-grade chapter book follows Anna and her best friend Banana as they navigate jealousy and changing friendships while preparing for a bake sale. Suitable for ages 9-12, it explores themes of friendship, conflict resolution, and teamwork with humor and warmth. Parents should note the story handles feelings of exclusion and jealousy in a positive, age-appropriate way.
Why we rated Anna, Banana, and the recipe for disaster 9LE
Anna, Banana, and the recipe for disaster is written at a Level 4-5 reading level across 108 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 5.5 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, Anna, Banana, and the recipe for disaster works for readers up to grade 6.5.
We rate Anna, Banana, and the recipe for disaster as 9LE ("Light — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Mild" range — mild conflict — the kind a child encounters in normal play and sibling life. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.
No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the mild intensity score.
Thematically, Anna, Banana, and the recipe for disaster explores friendship, jealousy, baking, best friends, and conflict resolution — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.
Good fit for
- ✓ Children in the Ages 9-12 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
- ✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
- ✓ Kids drawn to stories about friendship, jealousy, baking.
Maybe not for
- ! Reluctant readers who need a fast hook — the pacing here rewards patience.
For Parents
Content Intensity
9LE — Light — EmotionalLight conflict or tension. Mild peril resolved quickly.
Was our "Mild" content intensity rating accurate for this book?
Reading Insights
Hook Factor
1/10A steady, thoughtful read that rewards patient readers.
Discussion Potential
1/10A lighter read — great for independent enjoyment.
Book DNA
Multi-dimensional content fingerprint
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Details
Book Length
- ISBN
- 9781481486729
- Pages
- 108
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Published
- 2018
- Type
- Fiction