SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

February 4, 2021 by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Banana Fox & The Secret Sour Society | Review

February 4, 2021 by J. Caleb Mozzocco   Leave a Comment

Cover of Banana Fox and the Secret Sour SocietyBanana Fox and The Secret Sour Society
Writer/artist: James Kochalka
Scholastic; $7.99

How is it that the greatest detective who ever lived came by the unlikely name of Banana Fox? Is it because the detective, an anthropomorphic cartoon fox, is all yellow, save for the black tip of his tail, and his coloring therefore exactly resembles that of a banana? Is it because banana smoothies are his favorite beverage? Or is it instead that his creator, cartoonist James Kochalka, thought the name was a fun one to assign the star of a new series of graphic novels?

One has to assume the answer is some combination of all three, although the last option likely has to be given the most weight. Banana Fox and The Secret Sour Society is a new original graphic novel for kids from the prolific Kochalka, probably best known to young readers for his Johnny Boo, Glorkian Warrior, and Dragon Puncher comics.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Kochalka’s charmingly rough and simple art style, as well as his silly sense of humor, will be immediately familiar to anyone who has read those earlier works, although Banana Fox boasts a somewhat more complex and structured plot than the average Johnny Boo comic, being, after all, a mystery story…even if it is a simple one.

Flashlight, so named by Banana Fox because she carries a flashlight and he manages to cut her off and change the subject every time she tries to correct him and tell her what her name really is, finds the great detective working in a smoothie shop one day.

Having locked “the bad guy leader” Sour Grapes away in jail, Banana Fox has gone into retirement, being pretty sure there will never be any crime ever again, and he can devote himself to other pursuits, like attending meetings of the Banana Fox fan club.

But, Flashlight informs him, there’s reason to believe the Secret Sour Society is still actively committing crimes, now under the leadership of Sour Grapes’ son, Sour Grapes Junior. Luckily for B.F. and Flashlight (and the readers), Sour Grapes Junior’s criminal plans involve infiltrating the fan club itself, so our heroes end up dealing with the threat despite B.F.’s preference for attending meetings in his honor over crime-fighting.

Those plans involve a stolen turtle and the mind-control properties of Super Sour Soda, but to say any more about them might risk spoiling some of the twists and turns of the mystery, and, though kinda complex for a Kochalka kids comic, there aren’t that many twists and turns in the book. It is, after all, intended for rather young readers (although, as with most of Kochalka’s comics work, funny enough that adults can enjoy it, too).

I suppose it’s not spoiling anything important to reveal that Banana Fox triumphs over the Secret Sour Society,  and that our hero eventually learns Flashlight’s actual name and adopts her as his sidekick. Given how fast Kochalka creates comics, and the broad, Dog Man-like appeal of this book, I imagine it will be the first of many adventures featuring the yellow detective.

Filed under: Graphic Novels, Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Banana FoxBanana Fox and The Secret Sour SocietyJames KochalkaScholastic

About J. Caleb Mozzocco

J. Caleb Mozzocco is a way-too-busy freelance writer who has written about comics for online and print venues for a rather long time now. He currently contributes to Comic Book Resources' Robot 6 blog and ComicsAlliance, and maintains his own daily-ish blog at EveryDayIsLikeWednesday.blogspot.com. He lives in northeast Ohio, where he works as a circulation clerk at a public library by day.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

February 2023

Insomniacs After School, vol. 1 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

February 2023

Review: A Visit to Moscow

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

February 2023

Science Comics: The Periodic Table of Elements | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

February 2023

Review: Bomb

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

February 2023

Kiss Number 8 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

2023 Caldecott Jump

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Bonds and Books: An Interview with Megan Dowd Lambert About Building Connections Through Family Reading

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Recent Graphic Novel Deals, Early Mar 2023 | News

by Johanna

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Playing to our Strengths (and Other Insights on Co-Authoring a Novel): A Conversation with Nicole Melleby and A. J. Sass

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

SLJ Debuts New Column “Mondo Manga”

Be Afraid (but not too afraid) | The Year in SLJ Covers

Exclusive Excerpt of "The Baby-Sitters Club" Graphic Novel 'Jessi's Secret Language'

The Publishing Industry Adapts to COVID-19 While Offering Support

YA Books Reflect the Activism of Real-Life Teens

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023