MY CHIMP FRIDAY: The Nana Banana Chronicles

Inspired by a chimpanzee raised by the author in a Manhattan apartment, this diverting if outlandish story centers on a baby chimp who comes to live with sixth-grader Rachel Stelson's New York family. Not long after fidgety scientist Bucky Greene furtively drops off Friday in the middle of the night, and begs them to keep him for a week and to say nothing, Greene is reported dead. Rachel soon realizes that someone knows Friday is residing with the Stelsons—and wants to get hold of the chimp. Mundis, a comedy writer, is at her best with descriptions of the chimp: Friday turns out to be prodigiously gifted. He quickly learns to play solitaire on the computer, solve Rubik's Cube and dial the phone. And he causes merry mayhem—in the school gym and at a toy store—on several occasions when Rachel sneaks him out of the apartment in her backpack. The plot grows goofier, linking Friday's intelligence to genetically engineered bananas and Greene's death to the evil motives of his bosses at the Bio-Allmeans research lab. Balancing the effective humor, a wistful undercurrent—Rachel's mother died three years earlier—fans into a bittersweet conclusion. A good choice for animal lovers. Ages 8-12. (June)