Brianna Banana, Worst Surprise Ever -- Lana Button, Paperback

Brianna Banana has the best secret in the history of Grade 3: she knows she is Helper of the Day!

But when Miss Dee, a new substitute teacher, takes over her class and doesn't know anything about Helper of the Day, all Brianna's hopes are dashed. Soon she's in trouble for yelling and the principal is giving her another lecture. But when a fire drill is called and Brianna uses her fire drill experience to make sure both Miss Dee and her classmate Rumi make it safely outside, Brianna learns that there is more than one way to be the Helper of the Day!

★ "Reminiscent of Junie B. Jones. Well-meaning Brianna's smart narration relates her struggles coping with family upheaval, bullying, and frequent communication snafus and misunderstandings with adults as well as her yearning for a best friend. Grayscale illustrations by Ogawa evoke Raina Telgemeier vibes and bring funny scenes of this charming read by Button to vivid life."--Publishers Weekly, starred review for Brianna Banana, Helper of the Day

Author: Lana Button
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 10/14/2025
Pages: 96
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.44lbs
Size: 7.63h x 5.25w x 0.25d
ISBN: 9781459843196
Audience: Ages 4-8

About the Author

Lana Button is an early childhood educator and the author of more than a dozen books for children, including Brianna Banana, Helper of the Day, Stay My Baby, Tough Like Mum and the Kitty and Friends series. Her books have been shortlisted for the Blue Spruce Award, Shining Willow Award, IODE Jean Throop Book Award and Rainforest of Reading, and they have been recognized as Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books and an IBBY Outstanding Book for Young Children. Lana is a former actress who considers every read-aloud a mini performance. When not writing new stories, Lana spends her time travelling to schools and festivals to share her passion for social-emotional literacy. She lives in Burlington, Ontario.

Suharu Ogawa is a Toronto-based illustrator. Her love for drawing started in a kindergarten art school after being kicked out of calligraphy class for refusing to convert to right-handedness. Formally trained in art history and cultural anthropology, she worked for several years as a university librarian until her passion for illustration called her out of that career and into the pursuit of a lifelong dream. Since then, Suharu has created illustrations for magazines, public art projects and children's books, including All Consuming, Cities: How Humans Live Together and Why Humans Work. She also teaches illustration at OCAD University in Toronto.