Peanut was published by Scholastic Press in 2007. It was written and illustrated by Linas Alsenas.
Mildred is an old lady and is lonely. She happens to find a stray elephant which she thinks is a puppy. She spends a lot of time with this elephant and enjoys spending time with it. But eventually, a man from the circus finds the elephant and takes it back to the circus. While Mildred is sad that her good friend is gone she finds a new friend at the end of the story.
I have a feeling Mildred might be suffering from some kind of mental disease since she can’t tell the difference between a puppy and an elephant. I suppose we should be accepting of people like this in society.
The story is funny and weird at the same time. The ending promotes the never ending story idea... what animal will be next for this crazy woman?
I like the illustration very much. There really isn’t any background until the elephant performs at the circus. The colors are soft but vivid enough (color pencils?).
Peanut is about letting someone (in this case an elephant...) go. In life we have to accept these kind of situations and let others move on.
Recommended.
