The Banana From Space - A Review

Open Shelf recently read The Banana From Space by Olga Podoprigora. Here's our review.

The Banana From Space is available HERE.

The Banana From Space (And Other Stories From Riverstone) is a collection of ten short children’s stories that set out to be gentle oddities that all take place in their own world of Riverstone.

Princess Lynxe and the Sun opens with the kind of gentle wonder that defines truly timeless children’s storytelling. From the first lines, the tale radiates a classic, folkloric charm: a young lynx princess gazing at a mountain and believing it will shrink as she grows. It’s a beautifully childlike logic, and the story leans into that innocence with confidence.

The sensory detail is vivid without ever overwhelming.  There are prickly shrubs, cold rivers, snow settling on grey stones, that all ground the fantasy in textures young readers can feel. And when Lynxe finally meets the great blue expanse of the Ocean Giant, the story slips into a dreamy, imaginative flow that feels both fresh and instantly familiar. This is a gentle adventure told with warmth, clarity, and a deep understanding of how children see the world.

It’s a strong opening and wholly typical.  These are all delightful tales that are great stories in their own right but also have plenty of fable style elements to convey a deeper message for those old enough to seek it out, whilst never talking down to the reader.

Rather than look at each in turn I will focus on probably my favourite, The Magic Garden.

The Magic Garden is one of those rare children’s stories that feels instantly familiar, not because it’s predictable, but because it taps into the classic emotional truths that make fables endure. It’s a soft, imaginative tale about freedom, joy, and the quiet bravery of a child who understands the heart of a place better than the adult meant to protect it.

At its centre is Alex, a boy whose belief in the garden’s magic is unwavering. The story never questions him, and that’s part of its charm. The garden speaks, sighs, mourns, and celebrates, not through spectacle, but through the kind of sensory magic children instinctively understand.  I think back to books of my own childhood such as The Magic Faraway Tree, where you simply accept the magic and enjoy the richness of the story.

The author leans into that perspective beautifully, letting the world feel enchanted without ever needing to explain how.

The emotional arc is simple and effective. The grumpy gardener isn’t a villain so much as a lonely man who mistakes control for care, and the story handles his transformation with tenderness. His moment of realisation, that love isn’t the same as possession, lands with surprising warmth. The garden’s escape is a delightful, whimsical beat, and its joyful return gives the story the satisfying circularity of a classic tale.

What elevates this piece is its gentle moral clarity. It never lectures. Instead, it shows children that living things thrive on connection, that joy is meant to be shared, and that protecting something doesn’t mean locking it away. The imagery of rustling branches, weeping saplings, and drawings hung from friendly limbs, is vivid and inviting, making the garden feel like a character in its own right.

As one story in a ten‑part collection, The Magic Garden stands out as a warm, hopeful entry: a tale about community, empathy, and the courage to let things grow where they’re happiest. It’s the kind of story that lingers softly, like sunlight through leaves.

Let’s step further out again.

With ten stories there are lots of different elements with hedgehogs, bananas, ants, chameleons and more.  That keeps the variety going but there is consistency too.  The stories are gently moralistic without feeling they are telling you off.  They allow the reader to draw out whatever they wish, from the delight of each story to the soft learning placed within them.

They are supported by some charming drawings and brief concluding poems, creating a book that is endearing as well as entertaining, suitable for a bed time read and one that the reader can easily go back to.

You are left wondering just what will happen next in Riverstone?

You can find The Banana From Space HERE.

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