A simple but lively illustrated book about Apollo the Swallow by Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, for Egmont's Blue Banana series.

When Apollo the swallow flies to Africa, Chack the blackbird wants to send him a message. But Africa is far away. Can a jumpy dolphin, a grumpy camel, a greedy crocodile and a playful monkey help to deliver the message?

Blue bananas are illustrated books for NC Level 2 readers learning to tackle longer prose for the first time with the support of extensive illustrations and speech bubbles. They are carefully designed with education in mind, supporting children's understanding of vocabulary and punctuation. Blue Bananas explore the feelings and emotions of characters in a clear fashion

Julia Donaldson is one of the UK's most successful authors and her books for children - including THE GRUFFALO and ROOM ON THE BROOM - have won many prizes and are perennial bestsellers around the world. She is also the author of many songs, plays and novels including the award-winning RUNNING ON THE CRACKS for teenagers and the PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE stories. In 2011 Julia was appointed Children's Laureate. During her laureateship she undertook a tour performing in libraries from John O'Groats to Lands End to publicise the current plight of libraries in the UK, and launched a website PictureBookPlays.co.uk to help teachers act out stories with children. The National Portrait Gallery commissioned Peter Monkman to paint Julia, and this portrait of her in her "props room" now hangs in the gallery. She has received an MBE for her services to literature.