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Pete the Cat: I Can Read!
Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana
New York Times bestselling author and artist James Dean brings readers along for a hilarious ride with Pete the Cat!
Pete the Cat bites into a bad banana and decides that he never, ever wants to eat bananas again. But Pete really likes bananas! Will a rotten bite ruin Pete's love for this tasty fruit?
This is a special paper-over-board commemorative edition celebrating the 60th anniversary of I Can Read books for beginning readers. Eight bonus pages recount I Can Read’s history, including a time line, never-before-seen sketches, and origin stories of beloved I Can Read characters. This beautiful edition is perfect for gift giving.
Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana is a My First I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for shared reading with a child.
Pete the Cat bites into a bad banana and decides that he never, ever wants to eat bananas again. But Pete really likes bananas! Will a rotten bite ruin Pete's love for this tasty fruit?
This is a special paper-over-board commemorative edition celebrating the 60th anniversary of I Can Read books for beginning readers. Eight bonus pages recount I Can Read’s history, including a time line, never-before-seen sketches, and origin stories of beloved I Can Read characters. This beautiful edition is perfect for gift giving.
Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana is a My First I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for shared reading with a child.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2014
35 people are currently reading
613 people want to read
About the author
James Dean
233 books251 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
James Dean is the original creator and illustrator of Pete the Cat. He is a self-taught artist originally from Fort Payne, Alabama. His passion for drawing became apparent at a young age, and as a child, you could find James drawing his favorite characters like Snoopy and Yogi Bear.
James earned his degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University and went on to work for Georgia Power for a number of years. Eventually, he was called to pursue his art full- time and began selling his work at art festivals around the Southeast. It was during this time that he began creating paintings and drawing of his cat, Pete.The little blue cat showed up as a character in James’s artwork around 1999 and has been a permanent fixture ever since.
James Dean’s art has been sold in more than ninety galleries and shops across the United States. He has devoted his paintings to Pete the Cat for fifteen years and turned his natural love for cats into his life’s work. James published his first book, The Misadventures of Pete the Cat, a history of his artwork, in 2006, and he illustrated his first self-published children’s book, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, in 2008. There are now almost 100 published Pete the Cat titles with more coming out all the time. James is humbled every day by the success that this groovy blue cat has brought him. He says positively affecting children’s lives is his number one priority, and he is grateful to have such an amazing audience to work for.
James Dean is the original creator and illustrator of Pete the Cat. He is a self-taught artist originally from Fort Payne, Alabama. His passion for drawing became apparent at a young age, and as a child, you could find James drawing his favorite characters like Snoopy and Yogi Bear.
James earned his degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University and went on to work for Georgia Power for a number of years. Eventually, he was called to pursue his art full- time and began selling his work at art festivals around the Southeast. It was during this time that he began creating paintings and drawing of his cat, Pete.The little blue cat showed up as a character in James’s artwork around 1999 and has been a permanent fixture ever since.
James Dean’s art has been sold in more than ninety galleries and shops across the United States. He has devoted his paintings to Pete the Cat for fifteen years and turned his natural love for cats into his life’s work. James published his first book, The Misadventures of Pete the Cat, a history of his artwork, in 2006, and he illustrated his first self-published children’s book, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, in 2008. There are now almost 100 published Pete the Cat titles with more coming out all the time. James is humbled every day by the success that this groovy blue cat has brought him. He says positively affecting children’s lives is his number one priority, and he is grateful to have such an amazing audience to work for.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
February 2, 2021
Desde que conheci Pete the Cat há uns tempos atrás tenho lido todos os volumes da série que me caem nas mãos. São muito fofinhos, esse é especificamente sobre porque uma comida que você ama pode um dia estar estragada, mas não quer dizer que você precisa deixar de comê-la pra sempre. O único problema é que o ilustrador se chama James Dean. Rá!
June 24, 2018
Thank you Pete! Bad bananas have been getting away with being bad for much too long! Great book even if it is about bad bananas!
January 4, 2019
I like how they compared the other fruits to bananas. This book was not bad and I have read some bad Pete the Cat books.
October 16, 2024
I do enjoy Pete, despite not loving the illustrations. Tot really got into this one.
January 23, 2016
Poor Pete has a favorite food that didn't agree with him one day. We have all had times when we ate something we really love to only have some sort of issue. What can you do? Do you turn clear away from that food, do you give it a second chance, or find a new favorite. See what Pete goes through as he learns about his favorite food.
December 31, 2015
Well a bad banana could ruin your day too. But Pete's mom doesn't give up and keeps trying to make her son happy. It's funny and cute what this mother does to try to make her son happy. I love that the mother is a strong figure in this book as a lot of the books she comes in for a moment and then is gone again. But this one she is there again helping Pete as he struggles with something.
October 17, 2015
I have used this book in my tutoring sessions and both myself and the child I'm tutoring love it! We have read it multiple times and always can't wait to find out if Pete will get over his aversion to bananas! :)
April 5, 2018
A cute story with colorful pictures that encourages nutritious eating. It also teaches children that eating food that has gone bad is not good for you. A fun story overall that encourages a healthy lifestyle.
May 13, 2017
I haven't liked all of the Pete books, but this one was fun. We've all had times when we "lose" our taste for our favorite food.
January 13, 2018
Pete learns the importance of not making snap decisions.
May 26, 2017
Henry loves bananas, and I borrowed this book for him. It's a cute story about Pete the Cat loving bananas then found a yucky brown over-ripened banana and he didn't want to eat anything afterwards when he got sick. Eventually he overcame his fear and started to eat bananas again.
It's an okay book and kinda teaching children that just because you got sick on a bad food once doesn't mean you will always get sick when you eat a certain food.
Henry seemed to like it.
It's an okay book and kinda teaching children that just because you got sick on a bad food once doesn't mean you will always get sick when you eat a certain food.
Henry seemed to like it.
September 22, 2019
We've all been there. We get sick from eating or drinking something and we never want it again.
Pete deals with this like we all do: HARD PASS.
But then he finally realizes maybe a bad banana is just one bad banana, and he shouldn't sacrifice his favorite food over one tummy ache. We could learn a lot from Pete.
Pete deals with this like we all do: HARD PASS.
But then he finally realizes maybe a bad banana is just one bad banana, and he shouldn't sacrifice his favorite food over one tummy ache. We could learn a lot from Pete.
March 9, 2020
Pete the Cat loves bananas but he gets a bad one and refuses to eat any more until the day of his big marathon race. He then learns to love them again.
I enjoy Pete the Cat. He is funny. He knows what he likes and will not accept anything less. He has to relearn to trust again.
I enjoy Pete the Cat. He is funny. He knows what he likes and will not accept anything less. He has to relearn to trust again.
July 19, 2018
I love Pete the Cat. He's such a good, wholesome, character and I LOVE reading his stories and watching his videos with kids. It's any easy and fun way to connect with them!
May 10, 2020
No help needed: banana, sandwich, favorite, sour, juicy, breakfast, healthy, monkey
Help needed: cereal
Help needed: cereal
September 18, 2018
n James Deans "Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana", Pete shows us his love for bananas, until he finds a banana that doesn't taste very good. After eating the bad banana, he refuses to eat anything his mom puts in front of him. Pete won't eat his favorite banana bread, banana cream pie, as well as a banana split. Pete tries other foods to find something that will make up for the bananas he will no longer eat, but nothing seems to hit the spot. At the end of the story, Pete goes to run in a race, but usually eats a banana before he runs. He sees his friend Greg the Monkey eating banana and seems to get a little jealous. Finally, Pete is brave enough to try bananas again. Greg gives Pete a banana, and he ends up winning the race.
I like to look at this story as if I am Pete. I have been in a similar situation as Pete. It isn't fun eating one of your favorite foods and being so disappointed it makes you never want to eat it again. I love how James Dean, tells this story through realistic events. It gives the feel of being in the story or comparing the story to your own life events. Knowing now where James Dean gets his story ideas, I wonder what his pet cat really did to give him this idea. This story teaches a lesson to young kids when they eat something they may not like. Although Pete took a while to try bananas again, he teaches that it IS okay so try something you may not have liked in the past. Things change, and people change.
I like to look at this story as if I am Pete. I have been in a similar situation as Pete. It isn't fun eating one of your favorite foods and being so disappointed it makes you never want to eat it again. I love how James Dean, tells this story through realistic events. It gives the feel of being in the story or comparing the story to your own life events. Knowing now where James Dean gets his story ideas, I wonder what his pet cat really did to give him this idea. This story teaches a lesson to young kids when they eat something they may not like. Although Pete took a while to try bananas again, he teaches that it IS okay so try something you may not have liked in the past. Things change, and people change.
March 11, 2016
Synopsis: "Join Pete the Cat in New York Times bestselling author James Dean's I Can Read! beginning reader Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana. In this hilarious new title, Pete the Cat bites into a bad banana and decides that he never, ever wants to eat bananas again. But Pete really likes bananas! Will a rotten bite ruin Pete's love for this tasty fruit?
Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana is a My First I Can Read! book, which means it's perfect for shared reading with a child. Fans of Pete the Cat will delight in this I Can Read! tale featuring the grooviest cat, Pete!"
My Review: This was a great beginning reader book for those Pete the Cat lovers that are ready to move up in reading. It has simple sentences with familiar words. It also has a great story about trying something again after it didn't taste good one time. It is definitely a fun book that uses the familiar character to teach about flavors and compare different foods.
Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana is a My First I Can Read! book, which means it's perfect for shared reading with a child. Fans of Pete the Cat will delight in this I Can Read! tale featuring the grooviest cat, Pete!"
My Review: This was a great beginning reader book for those Pete the Cat lovers that are ready to move up in reading. It has simple sentences with familiar words. It also has a great story about trying something again after it didn't taste good one time. It is definitely a fun book that uses the familiar character to teach about flavors and compare different foods.
October 13, 2014
I kind of liked where this one was going. Pete the Cat loves bananas, but is turned off his favorite fruit after eating an overripe banana and suffering a stomachache. The text reads like a fairytale from this point as Pete's mom tries to offer Pete all sorts of foods that contain bananas and Pete tries to find another favorite fruit by choosing foods that share similarities with bananas.
When it comes time to power up before a big race, it seems bananas are just the right kind of fuel for Pete. The transition from trying new foods to needing bananas for the big race wasn't as smooth as I was expecting, but I'm happy to say I kinda liked this Pete the Cat story.
PreK-2.
When it comes time to power up before a big race, it seems bananas are just the right kind of fuel for Pete. The transition from trying new foods to needing bananas for the big race wasn't as smooth as I was expecting, but I'm happy to say I kinda liked this Pete the Cat story.
PreK-2.
December 17, 2015
Bananas are delicious, and high in potassium. So, you definitely should eat them. That having been said, I disliked how this story handled overripe bananas. We eat alot of them around here. As for the bad spots, use a table knife to cut them off. Not dangerous at all. I was glad that Pete did eventually go back to eating bananas again.
As for pickles, I would definitely eat them at breakfast time.
Have this story read to you, like I did!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK4__...
As for pickles, I would definitely eat them at breakfast time.
Have this story read to you, like I did!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK4__...
December 30, 2016
Pete the Cat books are cute, but this one didn't really do it for me. I'm glad he was willing to try different foods, but nothing else was satisfying so he ate someone else's banana and won the race... Would his friend have won if he ate the banana instead of letting Pete have it?
I'm pretty sure I'm just grumpy and over analysing what is, for all intents and purposes, a cute little book about a cat...
I'm pretty sure I'm just grumpy and over analysing what is, for all intents and purposes, a cute little book about a cat...
June 9, 2015
We are huge fans of Pete the Cat from his Four Groovy Buttons book. The bad banana is an excellent early reader for kids who already love this character. Full of simple sight words and repetitive sentence structures that helps young readers predict the next word and propels them through the book independently. Alice was working through it on the third try! And really looking at the words.
March 28, 2022
A cute little book that is perfect for the child in your family who isn't really reading yet. This tells what happens when Pete the Cat eats a banana that has gone bad. It is a tale simply but effectively told, and the large pictures give the child something to look at while you are reading it to them. All in all a nice book
November 17, 2016
Pete ate a bad banana. I thought my toddler would learn that sometimes the food might not always taste good and she would try some foods again... we wound up not eating bananas for a week.
Turns out my child likes bananas as much as Pete does and we still read this book frequently and are eating bananas again.
Turns out my child likes bananas as much as Pete does and we still read this book frequently and are eating bananas again.
Read
February 12, 2020It was a banner day in SMART this week, when my 3rd grade reader, who struggles with phonics and confidence, read to me both of the books he picked. Everybody loves Pete the Cat; and to think I'd never heard of him before SMART.
Also, SMART 2020 - another student, this time a kindergartener, was successful. The pictures served as good reading clues.
Also, SMART 2020 - another student, this time a kindergartener, was successful. The pictures served as good reading clues.
June 26, 2023
I read this to Julianna tonight. 1st book from kindergarten library and Julianna chose the book herself. Afterwards she wanted a banana lol. She liked the cute story.
This is funny. Julianna read this book today to me. She thought for 1st time but we see she read it last yr. Cute to read her 1st review. She gives the book 5 stars. She likes that Pete likes Bananas & won the race.
This is funny. Julianna read this book today to me. She thought for 1st time but we see she read it last yr. Cute to read her 1st review. She gives the book 5 stars. She likes that Pete likes Bananas & won the race.
August 12, 2015
Pete the Cat who loves bananas just encountered a bad experience from eating his most recent favorite fruit. The story left us wondering if Pete the Cat will ever eat his favorite fruit again. The kids enjoyed the short & sweet tale during baby storytime.
September 25, 2018
Pete the cat peels a banana that is bruised, mushy and bad. He ends up not feeling well after eating it and it turns him off of bananas. His mom tries various ways to see if she can get him to like bananas again.
May 24, 2017
So cute!!!
November 19, 2017
I also don't like to eat mushy bananas, so I really related to this story.
September 15, 2018
Pete eats another banana despite eating a bad one. B
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews