On the Trail

Peanut, Butter, and Crackers #3

by Paige Braddock

Peanut, Butter, and Crackers return in the third graphic novel in the series. This time, they're off camping. Getting lost just wasn't part of the plan.

Peanut, Butter, and Crackers set off on a camping trip. But when Butter and Peanut leave the safety of the camper to explore the forest, they end up more lost than they ever planned and Crackers has no choice but to go look for them. Can Crackers find his family before it's too late?

Kids will love Paige Braddock's newest addition to the Peanut, Butter, and Crackers series. This story of home and all the places we find it is sure to be a favorite.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Animals, Childrens, Cats, Juvenile, Friendship, Dogs

96 pages, Hardcover

Published July 12, 2022

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

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie approves.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peanut, Butter, and Crackers's owner is taking all of them camping. He tells them to stay in the camper once they get to their campsite, but Butter wants to explore and the energetic Peanut wants to go with her. Crackers is quite comfortable in the cozy camper with everything he could want. But when Butter and Peanut are gone an uncomfortably long period of time, Crackers decides he needs to track them down and make sure they are ok. And it is a good thing because Butter and Peanuts are completely lost and in a bit of a sticky situation.

Another cute little misadventure with these 3 family pets who really do care for each other even if they sometimes get on each others' nerves. Butter also learns her lesson and realizes the human had a reason for telling them to stay inside. A great series for beginning readers who are animal lovers.

Notes on content: There's a perilous situation at one point but everyone ends up totally fine.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The three animals go on a camping trip with their owner. Bored, Butter the cat, decides to go out to explore. Excited for adventure, Peanut joins Butter while Crackers is happy and content with everything that is already inside the camper. However, when the two pets don't come back for a long time, Crackers goes out to find them. Will Crackers find his friends?

This was such a warm and fuzzy feeling book. I loved the relationship that they all had with one another and the lengths that they went to help and save one another.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is adorably cute and hilarious! I found myself laughing without even knowing I was laughing which is my favorite kind. Sometimes you are like, oh this is funny, I'll laugh. But sometimes you start laughing and then realize something must be funny.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peanut is leery of going into a new, scary room, but Butter, the fearless cat, has no such compunction. Crackers, a somewhat larger, older dog, shows Peanut that the room is just a garage, and isn't scary at all. The trio realize that their humans are packing up to take them somewhere, and when they get on the road in a camper van, enjoy having more space to stretch out while on the road. At the campsite, however, Butter starts feeling a bit cooped up and bored, and wants to go exploring. Crackers thinks this is a bad idea, but Butter claws the screen in order to escape and go on an adventure. Crackers counsels against it, but Peanut goes along, hoping to prove less fearful after the garage incident. The two don't come back, and Crackers becomes concerned and ventures out to find his friends. It's a good thing, because the two go far into the woods, it becomes dark, and they fall into the water. Quick thinking by Crackers and help from a local beaver save the day, and the trio heads home, repairs the screen, and decides that staying in the lap of luxury might not be all that boring after all.
Good Points
This beginning graphic novel was a lot of fun, and is the third book in a series that includes Puppy Problems and Fetch. I haven't read either of those, but was able to catch up to the group dynamic pretty quickly. The colors are bright, and the text is in a large font size and much briefer than in graphic novels for older readers. This was similar to Keating's BunBun and BonBon, Lerner's Hunger Heroes, and Smith's Pea, Bee, and Jay, and made me think of older titles like the Holms' Babymouse, Krosoczka's Lunch Ladies, or Eaton's The Flying Beaver Brothers books.

The best part about this book was how well developed the personalities of the pets are! Butter, of course, is a wily, somewhat evil cat, although the portrayal is not overly stereotypical. Peanut is all youthful exuberance and emotional swings, while Crackers is content to nap in a cozy sweater. The beaver, Birch, is a bit of a wild card, but adds a fun note of quirkiness to a solid cast. I need to pick up the earlier books to see if humans are represented as more than feet and hands!

Getting lost in the woods can be traumatic, and Peanut and Butter are fortunate that Crackers is a resourceful character who is able to find them, work with Birch to save them. Crackers also gets extra points in my book for introducing Birch to the concept of kibbles, and for rewarding the rescue with a box of treats. He also cleans up his friends' mess so that the humans don't even seem to know that anything is amiss. This was a fun story, and I definitely want to explore more books by this author.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (I really liked it).

This was a cute beginning graphic novel. It was exciting and had a nice message about home and family. I think the book will appeal to both dog and cat lovers!

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trip outside leaves Peanut and Butter upstream but Crackers comes to the rescue.

[Jessica F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww, the fur family goes camping in their most heartwarming adventure yet!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adventurous story.
Friendship.

[Amanda Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindy-20 stars
Jasper-11 stars

[wildct2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, more peril

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cute series always makes me smile.

[Mary T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my three youngest sons. I enjoyed this one better than the earlier two in the series.