Peanut

by Linas Alsenas

When an old lady finds a small elephant in the park, what is she to do? Take him home and treat him like a pet dog, of course! Peanut's not like other dogs, though . . . and another walk in the park reveals that he's missing from the circus. When Peanut returns home, the old lady is sad again, until she comes across a camel . . . who she decides is a cat!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Humor, Storytime, Friendship, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2007

About the author

Linas Alsenas has spent - OK, spends - way too much time singing show tunes to himself in the mirror. He has written several books for children and young adults, including Gay America, Peanut and Mrs Claus Takes a Vacation. His latest book is Beyond Clueless, a novel about teens living in s a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, that is very much like Linas's hometown. Linas now lives in London with his husband and works as an editor at a children's book publisher.

Reviews

[Tamra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable! If you have little kids, read this to them. They'll think it's hilarious.

Plus, it'll only take 2 minutes to read. It's short on words, big on humor.

**After reading this to a 2nd grade class, I've upgraded the book to 4.5 stars. Every single one of them LOVED it. And hearing them laugh so hard when I turned the page and declared the elephant a puppy was priceless.

***I'm declaring this the best picture book that I discovered in 2011!

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

the illustrations are super creepy... kind of like prison art... there's a sad little absurd humor to peanut... lonely elderly lady finds a "puppy" that looks a whole lot like an elephant to me...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children love it when things get the wrong names and adults make obvious mistakes. Well, this lonely little old lady (kind of a blind old lady) assumed that it was a stray puppy rooting around in the trash can in the park. Sure, it had a predilection for peanuts (see clue) and the trunk was a very good leash, but it worked out well for a while. She adopted him and this little 'puppy' was very helpful around the house. Until one day the circus people recognized him as one of their missing elephants. Oh, she was especially lonely after Peanut got returned to the circus. Even visiting him at the circus she realized he belonged there and not with her. Guess what kind of stray she found next? Long eyelashes and a hump. A kitten of course! The drawings/paintings are easy to decipher (though the book is not especially large format) and the faces are very expressive. There is enough fun detail for multiple readings. (Like the crumpled up circus poster left behind after the circus moved on...).

[Jolynne Dougherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Resilience, Elephants, Elderly protagonist - I was picking books that had an element of silliness to them for storytime and found this one. Mildred is a lonely older woman who find a "puppy" who doesn't look or act like an ordinary dog. I like the book because it portrays and elderly woman. I wish she wasn't portrayed as lonely and friendless, as that seems a bit of a stereotype - lonely old person with no friends who sits on a park bench all day with no interests of their own.

That aside, it has its poignant moments and its funny moments. The kids enjoy the humor. It lends itself well to to a storytime read aloud for elementary school age children also.

[Olivia Thames · Rating 3 out of 5]

One cannot help by find the main characters of Linas Alsenas's "Peanut" as silly and as cute as the title of the book or the illustrations. When an old woman adopts her new 'canine friend', she ultimately has to decided between keeping him and returning him to his home in a traveling circus.

Will she make the right choice for her? For Peanut? Keep on reading and you will see just how things work out for both characters by the last page of the book.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect as a read aloud. Silly and fun and heartwarming!

[talia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked this case of mistaken animal identity until the circus part...I don't think any animal is happier in the circus

[Brindi Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww I love Peanut, and these illustrations :)

perfect for elephant and circus themed storytimes

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

We thought it was very funny.

[Caroline K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read! Colorful, somewhat angular and cartoony illustrations. Comical story with an ending that will make you chuckle.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to two groups of preschoolers. It inspired lots of talking.

[Alexsandra Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peanut is an amazing story about and old lady who finds a small elephant in the park and decides to make it her new pet dog. She takes it him home and treats him like a dog establishing her friendship to her new pet. This book has easy sentences for children to read. It also has clear illustrations for the children to see as the educator reads it to them. It will also make the children laugh because the old lady is kind of silly to take an elephant from a circus as a pet. This book is in the fictional category because it is quite unusual for a person to take an elephant home as a pet. Later on in the book it says that the old lady walks in the park and she notices that an elephant is missing from the circus. She returns it hoe and then decides that the camel is a cat.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mildred, a lonely little old lady out and about one day, finds a stray and decides to take him home. The stray won't eat dog food or bones, he only like peanuts. So that's what she names him. He helps her around the house and is a great couchwarmer. When Mildred takes Peanut for a walk in the park, she notices that he is not like the other pets. He didn't act like the other dogs either. Maybe that's because he's an elephant!

One day a man from a circus shows up and exclaims that Mildred has found the circus' missing elephant. Mildred quickly goes back to being lonely even though she visits Peanut at the circus, it isn't the same.

Then one day she found another stray...

[Ariel Cummins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly little story from our Story Book shelf about a little old lady who adopts a stray dog. Except instead of a dog, he's an elephant! Minor hijinx ensue, but ultimately Peanut gets back to where he needs to be.

Very simple, slightly old-fashioned looking illustrations accompany this tale of mistaken identities. I didn't find them outstanding, but they were pretty good.

Preschoolers would probably enjoy this tale, because they are old enough to get the sight gags and humor.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember I'm teaching Kindergarten and 1st graders with limited English when I say it's amazing! Every little old lady is known for her pet puppy (elephant)..aren't they. The story was simple yet humorous and my kids were able to catch the humor even with their limited vocabularies. Kinda makes me want a puppy...but perhaps not a kitten...I've heard you have to watch out...they spit. :)

[Keisha Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was fun it was about elephant named peanut. And the lady was named Mildred and peanut had to go back circus, Mildred went to the circus and peanut was very happy to see her and Mildred was happy to see him as well. I liked it when peanut went honk and then when the circus left town Mildred was lonely once again. So Mildred decided she was taking him home.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you talk about a lonely old woman...sweet, valuable, wonderful old woman who are lonely, it makes me really sad...and then she finds a pet that helps eases the loneliness until it is taken away even more sad.
It makes it sort of comic relief when she thinks the Elephant is a puppy but it isn't enough to make me love the books! Carry on!

[Shauntel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kids thought this book was funny. They probably would've given it a 4. I'm not a huge fan of the illustrations. And I didn't like the cadence of the text because of the ...s. Yeah, I know...picky, picky.

[Anj · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for ages 18 mo-4+. It has very few words/page so it keeps interest of really young kids but the story and illustrations are entertaining even for my 4 year old. We giggle every time we get to the end and Mildred mistakes a camel for a kitten.

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story about an older woman who thinks an elephant is a dog. A great message about how people need friends, and maybe not the kind of friends every one else has.
Very easy text and colorful illustrations will keep little people turning the pages.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom got the girls this book. It is so clever, and they love it, and I enjoy reading it to them.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations in this book and the story was adorable. The illustrator makes excellent use of white space. Great for story times.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story pairs bright colored pencil illustrations with a heartwarming and funny tale about an elderly lady and her unusual pets. A great gift for pet lovers of all ages.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd art, but a funny story.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute for storytime.

[Mariam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It definitely is one of my Favorites!!

[meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it. and so will my storytime crowd.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture Book
This is a funny story about an old, lonely lady who finds an elephant at the park. She thinks its a dog!

[Tina B · Rating 3 out of 5]

"elephant, unusual pets, old woman finds a stray elephant that she thinks is a dog; pair with ""When the sillies cat was small"" by Gilles Bachelet (elephant as pet cat)"

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute little book. Tyler loves it.