Puppy Problems: A Peanut, Butter & Crackers Story

Peanut, Butter, and Crackers #1

by Paige Braddock

A goofy new puppy turns the lives of two rescue pets upside down in this hilarious graphic novel for pet lovers and fans of The Secret Life of Pets.


Butter and Crackers are rescue pets living their best (and quiet) lives. Butter, a laidback cat, has access to all the butter he can lick and Crackers, a slightly nervous dog, is free to bark at squirrels to his heart's content. With an owner who goes to work every day, they spend their days doing whatever they want.


But when Peanut, a brand-new puppy with big floppy ears, arrives, everything changes. He has no appreciation for the quiet life, no idea how stairs work and he's even afraid of the dark!


Butter and Crackers have had enough - this puppy needs to go! But when Peanut escapes and gets lost, it turns out that home isn't home without the noisy little puppy after all...


A sweet and hilarious story about life seen through the eyes of pets, perfect for newly independent readers, visual readers and pet owners.


This edition contains lots of fun bonus extras, including how to draw, behind the scenes and a short story!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Dogs, Animals, Juvenile, Cats, Childrens, Middle Grade

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Paige Braddock is a Sparky Award winner, an Eisner-nominated artist and writer, and Creative Director Emeritus at Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates. She won a Children's & Family Emmy Award for her work on the Apple documentary, "Who Are You, Charlie Brown?" which won for outstanding nonfiction program.

Braddock has illustrated several Peanuts children’s books. Her other graphic novels for children include the series Stinky Cecil with Andrews McMeel and Peanut, Butter, & Crackers with Penguin Kids. New editions of the Peanut, Butter, & Crackers series are now available in the UK, Italy, Greece, and in Arabic by publisher Nosy Crow.

She lives with her wife Evelyn and their two dogs and a cat in Sebastopol, California.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paige Braddock's brief appearance as an assistant in the biographical graphic novel I recently read, Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz, put me in a open and welcoming mood when I saw one of her book titles pop up in the library catalog. Her "Jane's World" series didn't do much for me years ago, but I was curious to see how she'd fare when it comes to a kiddie book.

And she did okay, I guess, for the book's intended audience, but this little peek into how an established dog and cat react when a puppy is introduced into their household didn't do anything for me to make it stand out in a very crowded field.

[Runa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free unfinished ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This one was just...fine. If you have a kid who is an animal lover and you have pets, it's a cute read about a cat and dog who have to adjust to a new puppy living in their house. I felt a Garfield-y vibe sometimes, and the characters sure have their own distinct personalities. The layout was nice and easy to read, so it serves well as an introductory graphic novel, it's just a very generic story.

[Claire]

5 ⭐️ my 7 y/o speech client and I read this to work on his reading fluency/articulation and he loved it!! very cute and fun. he loved the artwork (and drawing the characters himself during free time) 🐶💛

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I colored this so I'm a little biased!

Puppy Problems was such a fun graphic to color because I got to spend a lot of time up close with Braddock's adorable cast of critters. The story is charming and a really good entry point for kids just starting out on their reading journey. Children who are expecting new additions to their household would especially benefit from Puppy Problems because it handles issues of jealousy with surprising maturity while also keeping things simple for early readers. Lessons are learned, and the overall theme of love and family unity can be enjoyed by people of any age.

[Abood · Rating 5 out of 5]

راااااائع جدا!

[Danielle Booey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute graphic novel about how life gets disrupted for a cat and a dog when their human brings home a new puppy. The illustrations and colors are beautiful, but I really wanted to like the story more. I think the resolution was a bit rushed.

Still I can see kids liking this for the cute art and story about cats and dogs.

[Emma G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute story of how family sticks together.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a pretty delightful children’s graphic novel! Things are cleanly drawn, the text is big and well organized. Children will be able to follow the story well. It’s funny and charming - seeing how Butter and Crackers deal with the new puppy, Peanut, in their home. A story that tackles acceptance and family all while being super light-hearted. It’ll be a blast seeing where this trio ends up! A good read-alike for the Wedgie and Gizmo series or Sparks! Thanks to Viking for an ARC!

[Ellon · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I think that fact that I'm not a dog person definitely influenced how I felt about this book. Like I think a better ending would have been to leave the puppy lost :P The book does have a lot of energy and any kid who has adopted a puppy will certainly feel seen . So even though it wasn't my favorite, I will still end up purchasing this book for my school because I think I will have students who will love it.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Butter the cat and Crackers the dog have a comfy life with their human. And all of that is thrown into disarray when the human brings home a puppy named Peanut. What will they do?

A cute and humorous graphic novel about the chaos that is a young puppy, and two older pets who first devise ways to get rid of him and then realize they might have gotten attached. Hand this to animal lovers just beginning to dive into chapter books.

No content issues.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a funny graphic novel about a family introducing a new puppy to the family… and how their dog and cat react! Lots of fun in this - made me chuckle at points! Gorgeously presented and I have another one here to tuck into!

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute graphic novel for early readers. This one nails what it must be like for your pets when a puppy comes into the picture.

[Madeline Grable · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Junior graphic novel, pets
Language: Clean
Age Range: 7+ (depending on their reading level)
My rating: 5 stars

Conclusion:
This book was adorable! It's all about friendship, and becoming a family. What happens when Crackers (the dog) and Butter (the cat) end up getting a new puppy? Well, their life gets a little chaotic and turned upside down. Crackers no longer has his favorite spot on the couch, and Butter is no longer the cute pet. But when the puppy goes missing, they have to decide - is the puppy family or not?

All in all, it was an adorable read and any pet lover will appreciate the content and art.

[KatieCatlyn]

A novel about Peanut, Butter and crackers!
An adorable puppy, peanut, introduces himself to Butter's and Crackers life. Peanut is a new puppy who loves to explore the world! (even the trash) butter seems okay with peanut but crackers feels like Peanut is needy and has replaced him. One night Peanut goes off to adventure for new things but ends up lost...away from home. Crackers realizes he has to find peanut! Peanut is somewhere and is lost. Crackers and butter sets a new goal to find Peanut!

BUTTER= CAT
CRACKERS=DOG
PEANUT=PUPPY

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Butter (a cat) and Crackers (a dog) are living quiet lives as house pets until Peanut the puppy shows up and turns their world upside down with typical puppy mishaps.
A great starter graphic novel for kids in grades 2-4 who are new to the genre, Puppy Problems employs adorable, colorful animal cartoons to catch and hold the reader’s attention. The characters’ facial expressions and body language convey a lot of movement and emotion, which really enhances the straightforward, conversational text. When the puppy gets lost, the elder pets realize that they do care for him in spite of his annoying ways, and go out to rescue him. The story is sweet and will be relatable to pet owners.

[Clarissa Blakely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute book. The pictures were very pretty and vibrate. It wanted to teach a lesson about taking others in and treating each other how you would want to be treated which I think is a good lesson to learn. I think this would be a good book for a child to read if they just got out of ICRs. I found that it was a little to stereotypical of a story but I don't think a child would mind. This reminded me a lot of Garfield, so if your kid likes that I think it would like this. Recommended for ages 7-11.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars because it got my 8 year old boy excited to read. He had been dragging his feet at reading time, despite that he has like a hundred age appropriate books at home to read. I saw one of this series on display at the library and it seemed like something he would like. He read it twice in a day and begged for more. I found the other two books at the library and he gobbled those up as well. Sometimes you’ve just gotta get your reluctant reader a book full of funny and cute animalness. I only wish there were more books in the series.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO CUTE! Butter the cat, and Cracker the dog get a new sibling, Peanut the Puppy.

The illustrations are so stinkin’ cute! Narrated from the point of view of the cat and dog, who are very annoyed by their new puppy.

I love that the voice bubbles of their owner are filled with squiggle, since the animals can’t actually understand what she is saying.

Also the cat is kind of the villain, which seems true to life ;).

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super cute and real-life awkward family dynamic for best friends Crackers, the dog, and Butter, the cat when they’re humans get a new puppy named Peanut. This book would also be a great introduction to graphic novels for children that have not read them before since there is minimal text in each panel and not many panels per page. I think any child with a pet would find this funny and easy to read—perfect for first graders and a kindergartners are a bit more advanced.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crackers the dog and Butter the cat are very happy with their lives, but it's suddenly interrupted when their human brings in Peanut, the new puppy. He pees everywhere, takes spots, steals food, and cries all night. Can they all get along? For fans of Frank and the Bad Surprise and Doggo and Pupper. With big panels and short sentences, it's also a very similar reading level to Narwhal and Jelly. Great for animal fans, especially dog fans.

[Yentl ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute graphic novel! Crackers and Butter have a great life. They are used to their routines and their space. Everything changes when their human gets a new puppy, Peanut. He is there to stay and explore EVERYTHING. Crackers and Butter are not happy. When Peanut gets gets lost, Crackers and Butter are there to help him come back home. They are a furever family ♥.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine: It is so funny because the cat is named Butter and she licks butter off the counter when it is left out. I like that the cat likes boxes. Peanut is the puppy. I like how they always nap. They love napping. On Crackers' to do list it says, "Bark, nap, bark, pee outside, sniff things." It's also funny because they puppy doesn't really know things like what stairs are or what grass is.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crackers (the dog) and Butter (the cat) live together harmoniously with their human until Peanut (the puppy) shows up. Full of wonder, energy, and mischief, Peanut tests their patience and one day Butter just happens to leave the gate open. As Peanut wanders out at night, the other two come to realize that they need to go out and help the little guy who must be so scared and alone.

[Chris Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re going to have a pet heavy comic including Peanut Butter in the title it had better be worthy of Peanutbutter and Jeremy, James Kochalka’s masterpiece. And this is absolutely worthy of that comparison with that book, albeit obviously more child friendly and broader in tone. Glorious cartooning too

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute, I loved the interaction of the characters in this story, I also feel like there was character growth and that the characters had depth to them. It was a cute, well illustrated graphic novel and I think I would likely continue this series. I would also recommend this to others.

[Elyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has witnessed bringing a new puppy/kitten into a home over and over and over and over and over again, this was put it perfectly on how the currently furbabies must feel. Also, baby fever? Now, I've got puppy fever! Also, extra points for being a queer author.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE Braddock's Stinky Cecil books, so I went in to this with high expectations. I like the art and I love the cat's personality, but it's not quite as weirdly funny as the Stinky Cecil books. I'll check out the next one, though!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations. Good intro to graphic novels. The animals all had distinct voices. I felt like the "owner" was cold. (Did we really need to see them at all???) At one point they spray the dog with a hose (for barking). Looking at this from a dog trainer perspective that was annoying.

[Lea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I dog sit a complete hooligan who is systematically ripping up a blanket right now, I can honestly say I chose this so I could hit my Goodreads Challenge. It’s cute, though. I’m a sucker for a puppy. Way too young for my campuses, but adorable nonetheless.