Naseem Hrab

Ira and his pal Malcolm love having fun together, sharing jokes and playing games. But when Malcolm plays tag with everyone else when Ira wanted to play hide-and-seek, Ira feels left out and sad.

This was an interesting book about emotional intelligence. The back tagline is that it's "the funniest book about feeling sad," and I'd be inclined to agree. There's plenty of jokes, particularly of the potty humor style that kids love (e.g., farts and butts are hysterical). The illustrations add to show more the humor with things like an anthropomorphized fart with a top hat and monocle.

Partially for comic effect, Ira's sadness is a little over the top. Eventually even he realizes that, declaring it's "dead-pet-goldfish-sad" before Malcolm replies, "Whoa. That's too sad." and Ira re-evaluates his level of sad. I appreciate them working together to not only label Ira's initial feeling of sadness but to identify the intensity and the reasons why. ("I don't even know anymore. I wanted to play hide-and-seek, but I didn't have anyone to play with. I had all these feelings... ...and I didn't have you," Ira explains to Malcolm before they go into describing what type of sad it is.).

I also love that friendship is part of the answer; the idea of Malcolm being willing to just "be sad together" was lovely. Instead of giving platitudes to Ira that may or may not have done anything to cheer him up, they work through the big feelings Ira is having and get back to joking and laughing together in an organic way. Obviously in the real world, we have to be able to emotionally regulate ourselves, especially as adults, but for kids it can be more complicated and they often need someone to serving as a sounding board and reassurance while they settle back down after having strong emotions. I like that this book models what that could look like. show less

This beautiful and heartwarming picture book is about a young Iranian girl wandering through her grandfather's house after he passed away. She encounters various things in the house that spark special memories of him and what they mean to her. She remembers jumping on his bed to wake him up, his slippers spark memories of hide-and-seek games, his clothes make her remember the mints he kept in his pocket to share with her, and his teacup reminds her of his the fig cookies he would give her. show more This is a wonderful book on mourning, childhood memories, and family culture. show less

Snail and Stump are back! Snail's friends head off on adventures, not seeming to understand that "adventures can happen anywhere," even at home. Some of the humor seems pitched over kids' heads at adult readers ("I hear that here is the new there!"), but some is aimed squarely at kids ("My shell is like a backpack....for me!"). Instead of traveling abroad, Snail and Stump enjoy their staycation, and welcome some parachute seeds, who admire their home - and decide to stay! A cheery book for show more introverts. show less

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 show more 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.

3.5 stars, rounding up.

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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