Small Readers: Peanut Butter's first day of school by Terry Border

The popular characters from the Peanut Butter picture book series have recently been adapted to easy readers and this is their latest adventure.

Peanut butter, a slice of bread with peanut butter and wire arms and legs, is nervous about his first day of school. He talks to all his friends and each offers him different advice - Cupcake suggests wearing sprinkles, Egg thinks telling a joke would be a good idea, and Jelly gives him a hug. But he’s still nervous! Luckily, all the other… things…. are nice and Peanut Butter has a good first day of school after all.

The fun of this series is the wacky things running around, which manage to look sentient even though they have no eyes or faces. It’s totally illogical; some of the characters include a bottle of syrup, milk carton with a flower decoration, an ice cream cone (with ice cream), and a salt shaker. They all have little metal arms and legs and are posed as if they’re completing various actions. There’s even a bowl of soup that “talks” by lifting out noodle letters in a spoon.

This is an intermediate level easy reader. There is not a lot of text, but the names of the different things are sometimes more complex. Readers who are familiar with the characters will enjoy seeing them again and the clever photography and little jokes, like the various inspirational posters, will keep their interest.

Verdict: Purchase if you have fans of the series or are looking for more intermediate easy readers.
ISBN: 9781524784850; Published 2018 by Penguin; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library