Root Beer and Banana

Sarah Sul­li­van’s lyri­cal text and Greg Shed’s warm, nos­tal­gic illus­tra­tions lend a south­ern fla­vor to this gen­tle tale of friend­ship and small kindnesses.

Mis­ter Mac’s ceil­ing fan stirs the heat
while the ice-cream freez­er
hums its steady tune.

Cold air hits my face
when I slide the door open.

It’s sum­mer on the riv­er, hot enough to melt the tar on the roof, and Squirt is hap­py to be at Mis­ter Mac’s Gen­er­al Store, where her grand­fa­ther is treat­ing her to a cold, refresh­ing Pop­si­cle. Her only dilem­ma is what fla­vor to choose — until she meets a girl named Mir­a­cle, with her bright­ly patched dress, who’s a nick­el shy of buy­ing her own frozen treat. With some qui­et help from Grand­dad­dy, Squirt makes just the right choice and ends up with some­thing even bet­ter than TWO Pop­si­cles: a new friend.