Otis & Peanut - Naseem Hrab - ★★★.½

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AUTHOR: Naseem Hrab

ILLUSTRATOR: Kelly Collier
GENRE: Children's Graphic Novel.
RATING: 3.5 Stars.

In a Nutshell: A collection of three stories featuring two friends. Written in graphic novel format for early readers. Simple storyline, nice themes.

Otis, a long-haired guinea pig, and Peanut, a naked mole rat, are the best of friends. Through three stories, we get to see their bond with each other, and also explore some interesting themes.

Story 1: The Haircut -
Highlights the fear of change and how helpful it is to have someone motivate you towards a new step.

Story 2: The Swing -
Talks of feeling low when you are missing someone, and how it is okay to feel sad and happy at the same time.

Story 3: The House -
Indicates what can make a house a home.

The first story was the best one for me in terms of execution (the right mixture of fun plus friendship), and the second was the best in terms of theme. I liked how the second story only mentions someone named ‘Pearl’ whom Otis misses, but doesn’t indicate who Pearl is or how she is missing. The moral could thus be extended to help with something as grave as the death of a loved one or something relatively more common as a close friend’s moving to another place.

There’s a recipe for “Peanut’s Perfect Baked Potatoes for Two” at the end of the book, along with clear instructions of where to involve an adult in the cooking process. Appreciate that!

The art style is quirky but I guess it works for the age group. There aren’t too many colours in use, keeping the palette as simple as the storyline. The graphic novel structure is excellently used, with the flow of panels and speech bubbles being easy and comfortable for little readers.

However, a few points could have elevated this book to a memorable one:

• There’s no introduction to Otis and Peanut. Given that this is the first book of a planned series, it would have been good for the book to start with a brief intro of the two main characters. Heck, I didn’t even understand what animals they were until I reread the blurb before writing this review.

• The stories are too varied in theme. While they attempt to balance seriousness and humour, the lack of a connecting thread makes the flow seem very random.

• The third story, while having some humorous scenes, feels very staid in comparison with the first two.

The book is officially aimed at little readers aged 6-8, but I honestly think that this is too simplistic for most eight-year-olds. It will work much better with a younger target segment, say 4-6 year olds.

All in all, it’s not a bad book, but it didn’t satisfy my heart the way children’s books usually do. Recommended to early readers who love comic-style stories with a strong theme of friendship.

My thanks to Owlkids Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “Otis & Peanut”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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