“Peanut” by David D. Bernstein

• 09/18/2018
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PEANUT

David D. Bernstein
Outskirts Press (2018)
ISBN 9781478794837
Reviewed by Eliana (age 7), and Noelle (big sister) for Reader Views Kids (9/18)

“Peanut” by David D. Bernstein is a story about a young girl named Wendy who’s dealing with the loss of her father after her parent’s divorce. She remembers her dad through the meals they made together and finds comfort in eating them; her favorite one being peanut butter and cheese sandwiches. But Wendy’s love for them soon becomes an obsession and she finds herself not being able to eat anything else. With the help of her mother and new furry best friend Peanut, Wendy will have to learn to overcome her grief of losing her father and begin her journey of self-healing. Only then will she be able to move on from the obsession of her father’s meals and learn to love other foods again.

“Peanut” is a book about overcoming grief and learning to move on with your life after a bad situation. This can be a foreign and difficult concept for children to understand after going through something like that, but Wendy’s story shows that with love and support from those around them children can learn to overcome these things and heal from them just as adults would. They may deal with it a bit differently, but this is not unusual, especially with children, and that the best way to help them is to just be there for them.

My sister and I were both sad about Wendy losing her father but were glad that in the end she was able to finally start learning to be happy again with the help of her mother and new friend. We both loved Peanut and thought it was sweet that he was inspired by the author’s late dog, Tamber. I thought the art was very detailed and my sister loved pointing out all the different kinds of foods in the book. This story is great for early readers to practice their reading skills.

“Peanut” By David D. Bernstein is a good story for young children who may be dealing with difficult feelings and help them learn to overcome their own grief with someone by their side to support them.