Every morning Otto counted the watches on display in the window of Watchmaker Dante.

Otto would love to buy them all. But he can’t afford that.

Even though the watches showed the time, Otto was late for school anyway. After that, Watchmaker Dante set Otto’s watch back a bit. “There you go, now you have lots of time again,” he said.

Watches and Bananas is a book about Otto who’s late for school because he stops to count the watches in the window of Watchmaker Dante, about Watchmaker Dante who doesn’t have time to set all the watches, about Otto’s dad who works at the banana ripening factory – and who really wants Otto to also work there one day. Otto doesn’t want to do that, but that’s not exactly easy to say either.

One of the greatest Norwegian authors, Lars Saabye Christensen, has written a novel for children, in a magnificent collaboration with one of Norway’s greatest illustrators, Stian Hole. Watches and Bananas is a thoughtful and subtle book about time, watches, friendship, and bananas. And about accepting things as they are.